Somebody That We Used To Know
by Mystichawk
Summary: For several years, neither Pitch Black nor his nightmares have been seen by anyone. Jack is now a true Guardian and all is right with the world. All is right, that is, until Jack Frost gets attacked by a wild Nightmare and is severely injured. Who's controlling this creature, and who is the mysterious stranger who appears out of nowhere, offering to help Jack? Read me to find out!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello ladies and gentlemen. Yes, I have indeed written another story. This idea came to me a while ago and my muse seized my by the throat and forced me to publish it today. This one is also about Pitch Black, as is most of my stories, but this one is a relatively new idea for me. Please read and review to tell me what you think.  
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**Oh, and I have something to note: I don't know how often I'll be able to update. I'll say it again _I... don't... know how often I can update._ I have a few chapters pre-written and that'll help, but what with all my other stories, my novel and that irritating thing called life, I'll be pretty busy. I just thought I'd let this story out and see whither people liked it. I hope so. Also, I make no promises about what date I'll update. Possibly in a week, possibly three, but I will promise to update before the month is out. **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this newest story. Have fun.**

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It had been three years since Pitch's failed take-over of the world.

Since then, none of the Guardians had seen hide nor hair of the Nightmare King.

They hadn't seen Nightmares, though Sandy had to banish a few bad dreams to make way for good ones every night, and, truth be told, they were happy with that! They all knew that if Pitch ever did come back he would have them to deal with but, for the most part, they didn't think about Pitch.

Bunny focused on bringing back Easter to the world, North had his hands full with Christmas, Jack continued with his new duties as the Guardian of Fun, and Tooth and Sandy had their daily jobs. Honestly, things were going _so_ well that, after about a year, all of them, even Jack, actually _forgot_ about the Boogeyman for a while.

Jack Frost was currently in Zurich, Switzerland spreading his icy magic around by drawing on the windowpane of a three-year-old and smiling as the tiny child clapped and gurgled.

"It's pretty, isn't it?" Jack said, tracing the fern pattern he'd made.

The baby clapped and laughed. Her voice, though dulled by the glass between them, was musicale and sweet to his ears.

Jack smiled fondly down at the infant. She was happy. _He'd_ made her happy.

Jack knew that he should be going soon. There were plenty of other places that he needed to visit before dawn broke, so he waved goodbye to the gurgling infant and flew up onto the roof of her house, then he executed a perfect leap and let out a whoop of joy as the wind caught him and flung him up into the sky.

"OK, wind, next stop: Russia!" Jack said, laughing as the wind carried him up and over the mountains that harbored the tiny village below from snow-storms. He flew through the air, sending a small blanket of snow over everywhere he passed and laughing at how wonderful his life was.

He had a home at Santoff Clausen, a family, and more believers than he'd even hoped to obtain. Jack flew over a silent slumbering town and sighed, thinking about how content he was. Content to just fly around, bringing fun to children all over the world. Content being a Guardian.

~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

He arrived in Burgess several hours later, after covering Russia, Wales, London and Ireland in a blanket of snow and painting every child's windowpane with a beautiful frosty picture. He loved his work so much. Seeing the joy on each child's face and the bright happiness that twinkled in their eyes. It was something few people could really see the value of. Joy, happiness, and fun.

Jack alighted down on the street, tired of flying. The north wind was in a foul mood today and he'd been a bit more buffeted than usual when he'd flown with it. Jack walked through the silent streets of Burgess, completely and utterly content. There was nothing else for him to do! He'd covered every area able to have snow in deep drifts, spread his merry fun around the entire globe, (except for across the equator,) and for the first time in his entire immortal life, he had free time.

"I might as well head back to Santoff Clausen." he said. It was night and North and Tooth didn't like him staying out too late.

The big Cossack and the fairy-woman had taken it upon themselves to act as surrogate parents for Jack. Even though he was immortal and he wasn't as stupid as he'd been, he still did some bone-headed things once in a while and then Tooth and North had to have a short talk with him. Most of the time though, it was OK. Tooth came by when she wasn't too busy to check his teeth were still in glimmer-white pristine condition and to scold North whenever she saw him eating cookies.

"All those sugar-disks are is a sure way to a heart attack!" she'd said the last time she and North had gotten into a fight about the cookies.

North had simply folded his arms. "Toothy, I am Santa Clause! It is part of tradition for me to eat cookies!"

Tooth snorted. "You don't see Jack walking around with a corn-cob pipe and a button nose, do you North? And you don't see Bunny with pink fur and a ribbon tied around his neck? We are about as far from tradition as it is likely to get!"

Jack had to agree with that. "She's kinda right North, you could stand to lose a few pounds. Remind me to get you a treadmill this Christmas."

North had looked puzzled. "Vhat is treadmill?" he asked.

Jack shrugged. "Some exercise thing. I saw one on Jamie's T.V. And by the way Tooth," he'd said, turning to the annoyed fairy-woman. "Why on earth would I have a _corn-con pipe? _I'm only three hundred years old! And I don't smoke!"

Tooth looked down her nose at him. "You'd better not. Tobacco stains your teeth something awful!"

Jack smiled. "Sometimes I think she cares more about my chompers than about me." he said, turning down another street he didn't know. Jack had walked all through Burgess a hundred times and he still didn't know every street.

This one was narrow, the perfect space for someone to get mugged. There were no doors or gates. Just a long narrow alleyway that led somewhere he didn't know. But Jack wasn't worried. He'd just fly away if there was trouble, but he doubted there would be. Since their defeat of that fear spirit, what was his name? Patch? Well, since they defeated him thing has been pretty quiet. No other spirits were strong enough to oppose the Guardians and none wanted to risk it. He himself had fifty times the believers he had before. Thousands of children, all over the globe, believed in him. They believed in the Guardians and nothing was ever going to stop that.

Jack heard a noise behind him. He stopped, right as he was about to turn a corner, and listened. His senses had always been sharp, but after ten weeks of training with Bunnymund in the various martial arts and learning Quarterstaff with North, his senses had pretty much been honed sensitive enough to hear a spider clicking its fangs a few miles away.

The sound was soft, almost inaudible, and reminded him of the footsteps of a young child. But he had a sneaking suspicion that was what it wanted him to think. He thought it sounded about a couple of feet away and he didn't turn around, afraid it might spook whatever it was. The thing began to make another noise, louder and most distinct this time. Snorting.

Jack swirled around, holding his staff in one hand. The other hand held a sharp ice-dagger that he'd made a few months ago, when he'd first started to learn to fight, and he raised the weapon to shoulder-level, outstretched and threatening.

Before him was the oddest creature he'd ever seen. Its skin looked like a rippling layer of black sand. Mixed into the black were shades of shimmering silver, blue, violet and a tinge of deep magenta. Its head and body resembled that of a huge horse, like bigger than a Clydesdale! Its head was about two feet above his and it snorted at him, glaring at him with bright yellow eyes. Human eyes.

In those eyes he saw a feverish desire, one that he could remember seeing in another animal like this one, but the creature advanced on him and the image that was forming in his mind shattered when he took a fearful step back. The creature snorted and it's lips raised to show its glittering black teeth in what Jack fervently hoped wasn't a smile, but it sure looked like one.

Jack swallowed. This thing, whatever it was, wasn't going to just leave him alone.

"Look horsey, we can do this the easy way or the hard way." he said, taking another step backwards.

The horse's lips rose again and Jack had the feeling he knew what it was thinking. _Fresh meat._

Jack took his chance. He didn't even stop to consider what he was doing. He just charged the creature, holding his dagger out and ready to block with his staff. The beast side-stepped and turned to face him, its golden eyes glowing with that feverish desire more brightly than ever!

"Hard way it is then," Jack said, and leaped into the air, swinging his staff down across the beast's neck. Strangely though, the creature didn't react. The staff fazed right through the horse's neck like it was water!

The horse brought up its back legs as he landed behind it, narrowly missing his head as he arched over it and landed on his feet. He took a swipe with his dagger but missed. The horse kicked with its back hooves again and missed him by a hair. Jack dove to one side and then straight up, trying to get away from the horse. He knew that horses- even creepy black-dusted horses with golden eyes, couldn't fly and he felt reasonably sure that he was safe.

Then the horse reared and, wouldn't you know it, leaped into the air and flew after him!

"This is not good." Jack muttered as he rose above the streets of Burgess, the horse hot on his bare heels. "This is _really_ not good."

He dodged through the chimneys and smokestacks that littered the flat roofs of the buildings. The horse flew after him, neighing and snorting like a rodeo bull. Jack flew as best and as fast as he could, but the wind was still a bit temperamental and on more than one occasion he was hurled into a wall and he narrowly missed being flattened. Luckily his reaction-time was at least .25 seconds and he avoided being crushed with the agility and speed of an Olympic ice-skater. The horse was still close behind him when he flew up and landed on the roof of the tallest building in town, an apartment complex that was due several inspections from the sanitation department and a new coat of paint.

The apartment complex was very old, and Jack had been around when it had been built. Actually, Jack had been around when the land was still rich and wild, full of animals and trees. Then, over the years, he'd seen the land get bought up and bulldozed, then buildings had been put up, burned down and then built up again. It was horrible. Every time he witnessed buildings in Burgess burning down, it filled him with a deep sense of sadness in his gut. The homes of people being destroyed right before their eyes and sometimes with them in it! To make things worse, he'd actually witnessed someone being burned alive inside the very building beneath his feet. It had been horrible.

There had been a family of three living the top floor of the building, in the only livable space. The fire had been started by another idiot flicking a cigarette into a pile of dry grass. Jack had gotten there too late and the blaze was going so fiercely that he couldn't freeze it. It had started below and had burned up through the stories. The mother and the daughter had gotten out OK, but the father- who had lost a leg in the second world war, Jack learned, was too slow and he hadn't been fast enough. Jack had watched the man screaming and beating against the window, which had broken and he'd been pitched through, _still alive._

Jack was shaken out of his thoughts by a very loud snort behind him. The freaky sand-horse! He whirled around and found himself staring straight into a pair of horse nostrils. They huffed and blew back his white hair. Jack stayed perfectly still. He wasn't exactly a horse expert, but he knew enough to keep very still. If he didn't, it might snap at him and he really didn't want to know what those teeth felt like.

"OK, I'm gonna step away slowly," Jack said slowly, taking one step back.

Without warning, the horse lunged towards him and Jack raised his staff automatically to defend himself, but the horse cleanly snapped his staff in two with its teeth and Jack felt himself almost keel over with the pain. It was _excruciating. _The pain shot through his body like a virus, eating away at him from the heart. It gnawed and bit at his body and the pain was almost intolerable. Jack staggered, holding his hand to his chest. Each movement sent pain shooting up and down his body and Jack almost passed out!

Unfortunately, Jack forgot he was on a roof and, even worse, he forgot he was on the _edge_ of a roof. The edge of which he'd just stepped off of.

"SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-" Jack screamed, then he hit the very _very_ hard concrete and felt two ribs and maybe an arm break. But the pain of breaking bones was _nothing_ compared to the pain of the broken staff that most likely was being stomped to bits by the Nightmarish horses! it sent an inner fire coursing through him and Jack Frost did _not _like fire.

Jack tried to raise his head an inch but that inch sent his bones creaking. He moaned, but he couldn't talk. It hurt too much and he suspected he'd punctured a lung. He could feel blood rushing through his veins and rushing through open wounds in his body. The paint was almost too much to bear!

And then, as if his luck couldn't get any worse, Jack heard the sound of hoof-beats and snorting. The nightmare horse was back to finish him off!

"NO!" Jack hissed. "I won't make it that easy for that creature!"

And, with an amazing amount of strength, he pushed himself up with his one good arm and then to his knees. The hoof-beats were getting louder and Jack could see it now, rearing up and crying out like a dying child. The sound sent shivers down Jack's spine and he shuddered. It was a _horrifying_ sound, like the death of a thousand children and the screams of a thousand babies, all mixed together with the whistling of the wind, (even though it was trying to be helpful now,) and the darkness all around him.

Jack stumbled a few feet, then he realized that he wouldn't get far without his staff or at the very least, a crutch to lean on. He must've rolled an ankle when he'd fallen or sprained it. Jack summoned strength from somewhere deep inside him and created a tall, thin rod of strong ice with a flat bottom and a short bar of ice connected to the top. Jack slipped the thing under his left arm and hobbled forward. The thing was working perfectly.

Jack hobbled and hobbled, heading for Jamie's house. He would know what do to. Jamie always knew what to do.

He only got twenty feet before he heard the hoof-beats thundering behind him. When he turned around, he saw the beast standing five feet away, still as a statue, appraising him with its human golden eyes. Jack shuddered and knew that he couldn't run any more. His powers were slowly draining away and his physical strength was draining even faster. He move barely faster than a snail and he knew that, if the beast wanted to kill him, he wasn't going to put up much of a fight.

Slowly, Jack made himself turn around If the beast was going to kill him, then he was also going to go out looking his killer in the eye.

_Murdered by a horse, _Jack thought bitterly, staring straight into the horse's eyes. _When I'm dead, Bunny's most certainly going to put that on my gravestone._

The horse took a step forward and, without warning, tossed his head towards him and Jack took an involuntary step back. Then he tripped over his own feet and stumbled back onto the concrete, landing with a sickening crack which he was sure was another rib. Jack winced and he would've moaned, but he didn't want to die groaning like a creaky staircase. The horse tossed it's head again and let out a whinny that Jack swore was laughter. Jack narrowed his eyes and glared at the beast, daring it to laugh again but it didn't.

Jack raised his unbroken arm and pushed against the ground with his crutch, trying to get up to run again, but he knew that there was no point. For one, the horse was still in front of him and it would probably bite his head off if he tried to move. For another, his strength was almost spent. With his broken ribs and arm bent there was no way he was going to out-run the creature. Even if his legs were fine, the pain of his ribs would be too much for him. He wouldn't be able to move more than a few feet! Jack sighed and then hissed as the exhale of breath caused his chest to contract. It hurt like fury and he was absolutely certain now that he had a punctured lung. Breathing was something that would soon become difficult for him, even if it wasn't really necessary.

Jack didn't move a muscle, keeping his eyes locked with the horse's. They stared at each other, eyes never-wavering, for at least ten minutes.

And then something unexpected happened. A dark shadow darted out from a corner behind the horse and launched itself at it! The shadow attacked the horse wildly, wrapping its arms around the beast's neck and the horse bucked and kicked like a whirlwind, twisting and thrashing like a demon.

Jack found himself completely frozen, wondering what kind of maniac would attack a huge horse that could kill you with one kick in the right place? Still, the shadow was swinging from the horse's neck by one hand, holding onto its mane. The horse obviously didn't like it because it let out a harsh cry and reared up, lifting the shadow up off the ground and shaking him like a dog with a toy doll!

Jack watched in horror as the shadow swung back and forth, keeping hold onto the horse only by one hand. What did he think he was accomplishing, Jack wondered, holding onto the creature's mane like that? The only thing that would stop that monster from murdering the stranger and then him was a strong set of iron chains. And even then, Jack had a feeling that the horse might be able to bite through chains. Those teeth _did_ look rather nasty.

The shadow swung to and fro from the horse's neck as the beast bucked and kicked, rising up and coming down as fast as a roller-coaster, yet the shadow hung on. Jack was in awe and he wondered if anyone had ever hung onto a wild horse by the neck and lived? Probably not.

Suddenly the horse reared up once more and, instead of coming back down on its powerful hoofs, the creature stretched its neck out and crashed backwards onto the ground, dragging the shadow with him. For one horrible instant Jack thought that the horse had fallen on whoever the shadow was, but when the beast raised its head Jack could still see a dark arm wrapped around the shadow's neck. Jack gasped. _He was still holding on? He was still _**_alive?!_**_ How could anyone survive a fall like that?!_

Jack was so enthralled by the spectacle before him that he didn't feel the pain of his ribs anymore, and his headache seemed to be disappearing also! He was captured by the awesome sight before him and all his pain just seemed to drain away as he watched the fearless shadow wrestled with the wild shadow-horse. The horse was beginning to tire, Jack could see that. Its blows were becoming half-hearted and the shrieking cries were being tones down to angry whinnies and neighs.

Suddenly the stranger lashed out with one of his fists and rapped the beast's forehead with his knuckles right between the eyes. The blow was weak enough not to really hurt the animal but it had enough force to stun the creature and make it tip drunkenly forward, then the shadow did something that Jack could not see and the beast went down with a startled cry. The shadow twisted as the horse fell, first onto it's front legs where it knelt like a man in prayer, then it keeled over to the side, bringing up a cloud of dust where it landed with a sickening *_thud*_ and didn't move.

Jack held his breath, waiting for the shadow to rise up but it didn't. The horse didn't move and neither did anything around it. All was completely still. Jack felt a hint of worry creep into his mind. Whoever, or _whatever_ had saved him, they were most likely dead beneath that horse. Crushed by the two-thousand pound deadweight falling on top of them. It was a horrible thing for him to imagine and Jack felt guilt begin to gnaw at his heart. Whoever that had been, they'd just been trying to stop a runaway horse, or so they thought.

In reality, the horse was obviously mystical and Jack had the very distinct sensation of déjà vu, of seeing this horse before somewhere. Where? He didn't know.

Before Jack could wonder any more, a strange voice that he'd never heard before rang out.

"Hello?" the voice said. "Is anyone there?"

It was a concerned, male voice and Jack was sure he didn't recognize it. _It must be the shadow!_ he thought excitedly, opening his eyes and looking around. Nothing. Then he looked up and _there he was_! A large, dark man with a shadowy face looming over him. In his hands were a pair of sticks. For a moment Jack was afraid that the strange man was going to beat him with the sticks!

Then Jack pulled himself together, remembering times when he'd been beaten with sticks and belts and he realized that this was just an automatic reaction because of his past. He opened his eyes again and stared up at the man, trying to see past the shadows and look into the face beyond, but the shadows were too dark and he could only see a pair of green eyes glistening in darkness.

Jack stared at the man, trying to work up the energy to say something. Then, just as he was about to open his mouth and speak, something seemed to penetrate his mind and he realized that this was an adult man! Not a child! So why on earth could he see him?

_Maybe he's talking to someone else, _Jack thought hopefully. Then the man reached out a hand towards him and picked up his own cold hand. His touch and the movement sent another stab of pain flowing up his body. Jack winced and the man froze.

"Oh, I'm sorry." His face shifted in the shadows cast by the light of the street-lamps.

Jack tried to grin and say, "I'm alright sir," but his mouth was clamped firmly shut to keep the scream that was working it's way out of his throat down and he didn't have even the slightest bit of energy necessary to speak anyway.

"No, it's best you keep quiet." the man said, leaning back. Jack could detect a distinct accent on the man's tongue. European, most likely. British, if he wasn't mistake. "Do you have parents or a guardian to contact?"

Jack was about to shake his head, but then the strange man's choice of words penetrated his mind and he remembered! The Guardians!

He nodded vigorously, and then he groaned in pain as the movement sent a tendril of pain shooting up his neck.

"Oh dear." the man said, looking down at him. "It looks like you'll have to go the Emergency Room."

Jack blinked. Emergency Room? Then he remembered something that Jamie had told him a few years ago.

_"And when I broke my collarbone on my snowboard, mom had to rush me to the ER!"_

_Jack frowned. "What's the ER?"_

_"It stands for Emergency Room." Jamie had explained. "It's the place where people with really bad injuries that can't wait in a line. They rush you to a doctor immediately and then they fix whatever problem you have."_

_"Isn't that what regular doctors do?" Jack asked._

_"Yeah, but when you go to a regular hospital, you have to wait in usually a long line before you can see a doctor. Unless you've got some terrible disease or you're bleeding from bullet wounds." Jamie replied. _

Jack would've frowned, but any more movement would have knocked him out. Instead he looked up at the shadowy man, trying to see past the darkness to his face again. He couldn't.

"What's your name, boy?" he asked.

Jack didn't move an inch, worried than if he tried to speak the pain would overwhelm him. He didn't need to go to the Emergency Room, he needed to get back to Santoff Clausen! North would be furious if he conked out for a few months without telling anyone where he was, which was the most likely scenario.

Every time Jack had taken a severe beating, he'd holed up in a hollow tree packed with snow for at least three solid months to recuperate. The last time was when Summer had picked a fight with him and he'd been melted within an inch of his life. He'd crawled, half-dead, into the tree and slept for- by his count, a year and sixty-three days.

Then again, it really had hurt a lot.

The man bent down closer and Jack could see a pale face, much like his own, and a few strands of unruly black hair hanging down over his eyes.

"Can you speak at all," the man asked. "Or are you mute?"

Jack blinked helplessly. He wanted to tell the man to just leave him in a snowdrift and that would be fine, that he'd be able to walk back to his lake later and recuperate, then go find the pieces of his staff, but he had a feeling that even if he could talk the man wouldn't do as he asked. He probably thought Jack was getting hypothermia right now from lying in the snow.

The man sighed. "Well, either you are a mute or you're in too much pain to talk. Getting trampled by a huge horse will do that to you. I know. I've done it."

Jack blinked.

"Well I'm sorry, young man, but I am afraid I shall be causing you more pain shortly. Just grit and bear it and try not to fall unconscious."

Jack's eyes widened and he tried to squirm but that sent pain rocketing up his system once again. The man noticed his discomfort and said, "Oh heavens, I'm not going to hurt you on _purpose._"

Jack sighed with relief, though he was still wary and the action made his lungs hurt.

"But being picked up might cause you a lot of discomfort and I was just warning you." the man finished.

Jack frowned. _Being picked up?_

Then, before he knew what was happening, Jack felt himself get lifted off of the ground by a pair of long, thin arms and carried bridal-style. The man was right. The pain was _indescribable!_ Like someone was jabbing hot pokers into his sides and then rubbing salt into the open wounds.

"I am sincerely sorry about how much this hurts." the man said.

Jack tried to look into the man's face but the pain of being moved was slowly taking over his system, sending him rocketing into dream-world. All he could feel before he plunged into darkness was the man's strong arms clutching him gently and the steady, rhythmic beat of his heart, pumping blood through the wound in his ribs and into his punctured lung.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys. I'm back. Just warning you, I have no idea when I'll be able to update this again. Really busy working on my other stories.** **Well, here's the next chappie. Enjoy.**

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When Jack regained consciousness, he had a pounding headache and his whole body hurt.

OK, that might be a bit of an understatement.

Here is what he really felt like:

Crap.

He felt like complete and utter crap.

His arms and legs were throbbing with sharp tendrils of pain that were shooting up and down them and he could feel cold sweat pouring down his brow. He had a pounding headache and there was a striking pain in the center of his chest. The punctured lung, most likely. Jack winced, remembering the feeling of being punched in the stomach when the tip of his rib poked through the organ. His chest was inflamed and he was having a very hard time breathing now.

Jack lay there, wishing he knew where he was!

From what he could see of the room around him, it was small and could barely see a thing in the gloom. Shadows danced across the walls and he could see a sliver of light that must be from beneath a door shining far away. Besides that, there wasn't a single speck of light that he could see.

Jack moved his leg and felt the blankets heaped over him like pancakes. The heat was almost intolerable! He kicked at the blankets, trying to dislodge them but he couldn't. He was too weak. His body hurt when it moved even the slightest inch and all he could do was lightly shift the boiling blankets.

He sighed. If he couldn't get them off, then he would just have to bear with it until someone came to him.

Jack felt his eyelids, heavy and fluttering on his face, closing and then opening wide, then they closed once more. It was draining his energy to keep them open, but he strived to stay awake, at least long enough to find some kind of monument that could give him an idea about where he was. There were no windows, so he couldn't see outside- if there was an outside, and the inside of the room was completely black, apart from the sliver of light peeking out from beneath the door which didn't show anything except a bit of hard wood floor.

Jack heard a squeak and he looked away from the sliver of light, wondering if it was a mouse or, even worse, a rat! Jack hated Rats. _Hated_ them! You didn't have to deal with most pests in winter, apart from rats. Their thick, furry hides rendered them immune to almost everything except for sub-freezing levels of cold and he didn't like that. Then the squeak came again. It wasn't a mouse or even a rat, Jack thought. It's a pair of feet, walking over towards me!

There was one more squeak and then a deep, groaning sound. Door hinges, Jack guessed. Someone was opening a door.

"Ah, so you're awake." a smooth voice said, the words accompanied by a swift, almost silent set of footsteps. Jack frowned. Who was this?

Jack tried to turn his head to get a good look at his visitor, but it hurt him too much and he gasped.

"Well now, that's a bit rude." the voice said heard another creak, like the groaning of a chair and he assumed the man had sat down. His voice was closer now and Jack could feel the stranger's eyes on him, though he couldn't see a single thing.

"I take down that wild horse for you and then you fall unconscious, forcing me- great humanitarian that I am, to carry you to the emergency room where I get booted out because they can't seem to see you! Then, when I get back to my home, I have to lay you on my bed and then spend at least half a day watching and waiting for you to wake up, all the while calling every police station in the area to try and find your family, which I haven't done, and _then, _when you finally wake up, you try to harm yourself by twisting your neck. Not very grateful of you."

Jack opened his eyes and tried to turn his neck once more, to try and see the person talking to him, but his neck hurt too much and he rolled it back until he was facing the ceiling once more. Questions were rolling around in his head and he had to work hard to ignore them, if only to avoid a headache. Still, certain questions refused to go away. Who is he? Where am I? Things like that. Jack didn't know either of those answers, but he had a feeling he would soon enough.

"Tut tut." the voice said, sounding like a reprimanding teacher. Jack mentally frowned. He was beginning to feel like he knew this voice from somewhere.

Yes. . . the man's words about a hospital, taking him somewhere, the smooth, silky male voice. The accent! It all clicked together gently, like a jigsaw puzzle.

"You. . ." he rasped. "You saved me?"

"Ah, so you _can_ speak." the man said. Jack had the feeling the man was smiling. "Good. Can you speak enough to tell me your name?"

Jack shook his head. If he told him his real name, then the man would only ask more questions.

"Your address?" the man asked patiently.

Jack shook his head again. Nope.

"Can you at least tell me your parent's surnames?" the man asked, not so patiently.

Jack shrugged, then he felt a stab of pain shoot through his shoulder-blades and he stiffened, praying that the pain would go away soon and he'd be strong enough just to slip away as usual. That was what he always did, wasn't it? Slip away from danger? That was, in his mind, the only sensible plan and he always believed it would work, if and when he got back on his feet.

As if the man could hear his thoughts, (or maybe he just read the look on his face,) he smiled and said, "Don't even think about it, boy. You can barely move and I haven't yet figured out how to set that rib."

Jack frowned and the pain sent a shudder down his body.

The man sighed. "Oh great, now you've probably got hypothermia." he muttered. "Just when I get seventy-five percent of your wounds moderately fixed-up. Again, not very grateful." the man leaned forward and Jack felt the blankets being pulled up around him, until the edge of the topmost blanket tickled his nose and he sneezed, then he winced. Oh gods, sneezing hurt!

"That settles it," the man said, tucking the blankets up around him. "Laying in that snow for so long has certainly given you a cold and hypothermia. You'd best stay still and hope that you don't rip any of your stitches. You're just lucky that I took a short medical studies class in collage."

Jack blinked. Stitches?

"Let's see how your temperature is," the man said, putting a hand on Jack's forehead. Jack felt the cold hand slide away and the man sighed. "_That,_" he said, and Jack heard the sound of a hand being wiped. "Is not good. Your forehead is slick with perspiration and you seem to be burning up." the man paused. "The irony of this is mildly interesting."

Jack almost groaned. This guy was so familiar! His voice, his sarcastic tone. And yet he couldn't, FOR THE LIFE OF HIM, figure out why he heard that smooth, sarcastic British-accented voice before, apart from the Nightmare incident which led to his unfortunate current position. It was on the tip of his tongue! At the front of his memories! And then it slipped through his metaphorical fingers and he was left cursing in his head, wondering just who this man was. Or, even if he _was _human. No human should've been able to take down that wild, nightmarish horse on their own!

"-the hospital. I really don't know what was wrong with those people!" the man said, shaking Jack out of his musings. "If they think that a child _dying_ is a joke, then they have a very sick sense of humor."

Jack frowned, and this time he bore the small tendril of pain that shot through his skull by gritting his teeth. He frowned because he was wondering what the man was talking about. That word, _hospital_ again. Why did he-

Jack's eyes widened. The man had taken him to a_ hospital?!_

The man paused. "Are you alright?"

Jack struggled to nod, but the pain returned with a fiery vengeance to his skull and he only managed to let out a low grunt before he succumbed to the pain and he had to close his eyes. _Oh gods,_ he thought, trying to stay conscious. _This is so not good! They probably thought this guy was an escaped mental patient!_

"Oh dear. This is bad." the man said, all sarcasm gone from his tone. Jack heard the creak of a chair, then the shuffling of footsteps. The man was leaving him? Then Jack heard another sound. A whooshing sound, like running water. Jack sighed with relief. The man wasn't leaving him, although it might be better if he did. Jack knew that, when he got beat up pretty bad, there was a chance when he was healing for there to be a huge magical explosion or magical fallout. It had happened before, eight years ago. Jack had picked a fight with the fire spirit and, once again, had ended up getting melted within an inch of his life.

He'd crawled inside his tree to recuperate and stayed there for about a month. Then, when he came out again, it was July and there was about three inches of snow on the ground which was rapidly melting and then reappearing as he walked. It had been horrible, seeing the kids running around, happily sitting on beaches and playing in the sun. Then he'd gone to Santoff Clausen for the rest of the year, until winter came again.

Jack heard footsteps. The man was coming back again. He heard a door creak, the sloshing of water, then the clink of glass on wood. From what he could tell, the man had a glass of water with him. Jack felt the blankets that were covering him being pulled away and he sighed with relief. The welcome rush of cold air soothed Jack and he grunted contently. Then Jack felt something pulling at his hoodie lifting it up and a cool, wet cloth was pressed to his stomach where the pain was most intense.

"Nnnnnnnn!" Jack said, tilting his stomach away from the cloth and trying to shift the rest of his body away. The man was trying to cool him down, he supposed, but in truth he was actually providing Jack with just another irritation. The man put more pressure on the cloth and water ran down Jack's stomach, freezing as gravity took hold of the tiny droplets.

"Listen, I know this must hurt you quite a lot, but you've got to stop moving until the paramedics get here." the voice said sternly. The wet cloth shifted over to his side. "I just called them, they should be here any minute."

Jack's eyes closed. _Oh no! Oh no no no no NO!_

The man shifted the pressure again and Jack let out a sharp exhale as the cloth was pressed firmly against the broken rib. The pain was too much!

"No, no no! " the man said, pressing on the wounds and then letting up, then pressing again. "Keep your eyes open! You can't drop off before the paramedics get here. I didn't take down that horse for nothing!"

He pressed the cloth again, then moved it lower down his side once more. The water was growing colder and colder and, though Jack loved ice, this wasn't the kind he liked.

"NNNNNNN!" Jack said, very insistently, shying away from the cold rag. It would freeze, stick to his skin, and he wouldn't be able to get it off for a week. This had also happened before.

"Alright, alright!" the man said, taking the cloth away from his side. "If you won't let me do this, then at least take a few sips of water, I have no wish to be known as the man who let a child die of fever because I didn't keep him cool enough."

"I- nnt gnnna die!" Jack mumbled, trying to shift his body to let the side that was still half-covered with blankets air out.

"No, of course you're not." the man said absentmindedly. "If you did, well, that would be highly rude."

_Yes, and I wouldn't want to disappointing **you, **_Jack thought, fighting not to smile. The pain was more than he could bare right now.

"Where are those damn paramedics?" the man swore, standing up and Jack could hear the squeaking of floorboards under feet as the man walked towards the door.

Jack sighed. He wanted to tell the man that calling the paramedics had been pointless! Whoever came wouldn't be able to see him, any more than the people at the hospital the man had taken him to had seen him. They wouldn't be able to see him unless there were some children there (which he doubted), and even then _even then_, they might not see him! Jack had plenty of believers, but there was still the odd child who would walk through him and get a snowball in the face for it.

Jack sighed again. When the paramedics came and saw the man raving about an invisible hurt boy, he would be no doubt taken to an insane asylum and locked up for a while. That wasn't right! He couldn't let that happen!

"Wait!" Jack said, happily finding himself able to clearly utter this single word. He heard the sound of steps again and listened as the man knelt down by his side. He still couldn't see him.

"Yes? Is there anything else you need?"

Jack steeled himself, for he knew that the effort of talking would hurt him a lot. "I. . . need you-" then he had to break off to combat the pain that was stretching across his chest. Oh, how talking hurt!

"Yes?" the man asked patiently.

"Need you. . . to... put me. . . nnn ice." Jack said, gritting his teeth to block the pain.

"Ice?" the man repeated. Jack imagined he was frowning. "Did you say _ice?_"

"YEEEEEEEEES!" Jack moaned, closing his eyes again. If he didn't get in some ice or snow within the next hour or so, he would surely die. "Need... ice! Need ice. . . NOW!"

The man stood up and Jack could hear him striding towards the door quickly. "I'll go get you some ice. Just stay here."

_I'm not going anywhere, _Jack thought.

Ten minutes later, (or, at least he _thought_ it was ten minutes. Time was a bit hard to calculate when you couldn't seen.) Jack heard the squeaking of feet again. More feet than Jack remembered. Then he heard the man talking to someone and he groaned.

_Oh no! The paramedics!_

"-he's right through here. I think he might have a concussion. He asked me for ice, which I assume was because he was really in pain, and he has a broken rib, plenty of other injuries and he keeps closing his eyes." Jack heard the shuffling of feet and the creak of the door. "I tried to keep him awake, but he just keeps closing his eyes!"

"Where did you find him?" a gruff, man's voice asked.

"On the corner of Dickens and Blithe." a familiar voice replied. "He was running from a wild, black horse and he'd been kicked around pretty badly. He was lying in the snow when I found him."

"Do you know how long?"

The men were in the room now. Jack could see their outlines against the soft candlelight of the hall outside the room he was being kept in.

"I'm not sure," the man admitted. "Maybe... half an hour?"

The other man nodded. "That's good. Could we please get some light in here?"

Jack knew what was coming and he closed his eyes, just before the man turned on what he assumed was an electric light. Behind Jack's eyelids, red and black merged and flexed like oil and water. Jack turned his head slightly and the light behind his eyelids dimmed. he tilted his heads the other way with similar results. This way he tell that the light was right above him.

"Mr. Pitchner," the man said and Jack could hear the creak of human joints. "is this a joke?"

The man referred to by the medic as Mr. Pitchner said, "No, sir. This is not a joke. The boy is right here."

Jack felt a cold hand on the bare skin of his stomach and he squirmed. The hand was soothingly cold, but the feeling of flesh on flesh kind of unsettled him. As if the man realized that he was making him uncomfortable, he lifted the hand gently away. Jack let out a sigh of relief. Whoever this man was, despite that he'd saved his life, he was giving him a shivery feeling- which was hard to do to a winter spirit.

Jack opened his eyes to slits and he could just barely make out the men standing over him. Just two. The man named Mr. Pitchner still had his face partially in shadow, but the paramedic's face was all too visible in the electric light, despite Jack's barely having his eyes open. The man had a shadowy, fired face and dark blue eyes. He also had a hooked nose and a very unamused look on his face.

"Mr. Pitchner," he said, sounding as if he was fighting to keep calm. "Do you know how many calls an ambulance gets a day?"

Mr. Pitchner shifted. "No, I do not."

"An average of twenty, Mr. Pitchner. An adverage of twenty."

Mr. Pitchner shifted again. "That is-"

"A lot." the paramedic interrupted. "A _lot"_

"I assure you,_ sir,_ there is a boy here. He is in a lot of pain and he needs medical attention."

The paramedic looked skeptical. "Perhaps the lights are too dim."

Mr. Pitchner snorted. "The lights are directly above him."

The medic looked right at Jack, then he sighed. "I'm leaving now, Mr. Pitchner."

"But he is here!" Mr. Pitchner said exasperatedly, reaching for the medic's hand. "Here, I'll show you!" He grabbed the medic's hand, who resisted, but Mr. Pitchner had a firm grip and he forced the medic to touch the boy's bare skin and stop this stupid tirade of the boy not being here!

Imagine his amazement when the medic's hand went right through Jack's stomach, which it did, and Jack hissed as he felt the man's hand faze through him. Even after 300 years of being passed through, the shock still knocked the wind out of him.

The man heard his hiss and, letting go of the medic's hand, knelt down beside him.

"Boy? Are you alright?"

"Mr. Pitchner," the man said in a low, angry voice. "Do you know that placing false 911 calls can result in several weeks in jail and several thousand dollars in fines?"

Mr. Pitchner let out a sound that sounded horribly like the snorting of that nightmarish horse and said, "No, I didn't know that."

"Well, it is." the paramedic said. "Now, because of your considerable tributes to the community, I will let you off just this once."

Mr. Pitchner tried to interrupt but the paramedic held up a hand to stop him. "No, Mr. Pitchner, I will not hear another word." he said. "Just because you are rich and entitles, that doesn't man that you are allowed to call up the police and paramedics for a practical joke!"

Mr Pitchner was so angry he was shaking. "This is not a joke!" he yelled, making jack close his eyes against against the noise. "There is a dying boy in this bed and you are just going to let him?!"

"MR. PITCHNER!" the paramedic yelled and, though he was at least a foot shorter than the man, then paramedic's rage made his voice boom. "This is really quite enough! I don't know what your game is, but you should really seek some professional help if this is how you like to spend your time!"

"GET OUT!" Mr. Pitchner ordered, pointing at the door. "Get out!"

The paramedic stomped over to the door and with a last disparaging look at the bed containing Jack, slammed the door.

Jack opened his eyes a little bit more to see Mr. Pitchner staring at him. Jack stared right back.

They held each others gaze for at least five minutes, and then Mr. Pitchner asked the one question Jack knew he would ask.

"Who _are_ you, boy?"

Jack smiled and as the pain washed over him and he closed his eyes again, he whispered two words.

"Jack. . . Frost."


	3. Chapter 3

**Hola ladies and gents! this is the third chapter of my new story, Somebody that we used to know, otherwise known as STWUTK, and I hope you enjoy it. **

* * *

Kozmotis Pitchner paced in his study. What to do? _What to do?_

He should call the local orphanages and see if there was a boy missing that fit the child in the bed across the room's description.

"No, that won't do." He told himself. "The hospital staff didn't see him, and the Paramedic didn't see him, so why should anyone else see him?"

He paused a moment to cast a glance at the boy. He was tall, thin as a javelin, and that unruly mop of white hair suggested that he was probably an albino. But his eyes. . . they'd been blue, not red or pink. Bright, cobalt blue.

Kozmotis sighed and resumed his pacing. Was the boy going to live? If not, where was he going to bury him if no one could see him?

Practical-minded. That was Kozmotis Pitchner. Graduate of Oxford and the Teaching Academy in London, he prided himself on his extensive knowledge and decision-making abilities. Kozmotis had always been top in classes as a child and had even progressed to high-school material while still in sixth grade. When he'd graduated collage, he'd wasted no time getting a job as a teacher in the local elementary school, where he'd been a huge success. Children loved him and, more importantly, he loved children.

Most Teachers just told their students to sit down and do their work, but Kozmotis knew children needed room to grow, so he decided on a different approach. Namely, letting the children do whatever they wanted for to hour at the beginning of the day, then going back to the regular schedule. It made him very popular among the children and it also got good results with the school boards. The children, when not forced to sit at a desk all day, had a much better attitude towards tests and the like and as such got much higher scores that the rest of the classes.

After three years as a elementary-school teacher, Kozmotis decided to try and teach middle school English. That proved to be a bit more of a challenge, since middle school is so much different that elementary school and most middle-schoolers didn't care about anything more than their friends and their screens, but in the end he succeeded. His class became the top in the school and two more years of teaching quickly followed.

At the end of his middle school career, Kozmotis took a year break off teaching to meet someone and have a family. He did. His wife was named Sara and, within a year, they were married and living happily in his home-town of Burgess, Pennsylvania. Then came his daughter, his beautiful Seraphina. She was his pride and joy and he doted in his daughter more than anything in the world.

Now, ten years later, his daughter was going to fifth grade in the fall and, to prove how proud he was of her, Kozmotis had paid for her and her mother to go to London. His wife had begged him to come along, but Kozmotis said that he wanted to have a few weeks rest to recuperate from the year and to maybe even finish his book. His wife had agreed reluctantly and now it was just him. For the first time in decades, he could relax by himself. The spring term was over and his job was null and void until the end of Summer.

Or, at least, that was what he'd been wishing for. After years and years of work and sweat, didn't he deserve a rest?

"Apparently not." He muttered, glancing again at the boy in the bed.

_Why? Why _did it have to be _him_?

Kozmotis sat down heavily in the wooden chair beside the boy's bed and sighed. All he'd been doing was taking a leisurely walk. He hadn't been doing anything to hurt anyone or anything like that, so why, in the name of all that was holy, did the boy pick _him_?

"He didn't pick me." Kozmotis muttered ruefully. "I chose to stop that blasted horse. Ah!" his hand pressed hard against the place where the horse had kicked him. "The exact same place where Onyx kicked me all those years ago." he said, laughing quietly. "What are the odds?"

Onyx had been a particularly unruly horse that he'd been given when chaperoning his daughter's girl scout troupe on a horse ranch. The horse had tried to buck him, but Kozmotis had held on firmly, using an unknown reservoir of knowledge to issue commands to the beast. The horse had reluctantly agreed, but when they were on the trail and he thought the beast was calm, the horse reared his head back and grabbed onto the reins, yanking them from his hand and throwing him into a tree.

Then the beast had, regardless of the handlers trying to grab the reins, proceeded to kick Kozmotis painfully in the stomach, exactly where the horse had kicked him last night.

"Maybe it was the same horse," Kozmotis mused. Then he shook his head. "No. that one was much wilder."

The boy moaned and moved slightly, then he moaned again and was still. Moving obviously hurt him.

"I wonder where he's from." Kozmotis said aloud, staring down at the boy's face. It was milk-white and beaded with sweat. He reached for the bowl of cold water beside him and, after wringing the water out of the towel and then soaking it again with fresh, clean water, he laid the cloth across the boy's forehead. The boy jerked and tried to move his head away form the cloth, but Kozmotis held his head in place with a firm hand.

"I'm sorry, but this'll help." he said, running the cloth down the boy's cheek. "Trust me."

The boy murmured something in response. It sounded like _snow._

"Boy, snow is _not_ going to help you." Kozmotis said firmly. "You've got hypothermia, a fever- which shouldn't be possible at the same time, I might add, and several bruises, cuts, and the broken arm and rib. I've set the arm, but my medical studies class at Oxford didn't give me any tips on rib-setting."

The boy moaned again.

"Listen boy, I _know_ it hurts but it's the only thing I can do right now!" Kozmotis said irritably. Oh, _why_ couldn't he be on vacation with his wife and little girl? _Why?!_

Kozmotis took the bowl of water, which was getting murky, away and filled it up with fresh, clean water. The he pulled down the boy's covers and dabbed at the dried blood around his rib. The boy winced and tried to curl up to escape the cold cloth, but Kozmotis held him down with a strong arm while he dabbed with the other.

"Now you need to hold still!" Kozmotis commanded. "I'm almost done."

The boy grunted. Well, so he was awake. That was something.

"Boy, can you understand me?"

"Aaaaaack." the boy moaned.

"Back?" Kozmotis said, frowning. "You want me to get back?"

"AAAAAACK!"

Kozmotis sighed. "I'm _not_ going to get back, boy. I need to help you or else I will never forgive-"

"AAAAAAACK! J-ACK J-AAAACK!" the boy said. He was obviously getting frustrated now and Kozmotis had to hold him down again.

"Jack? Oh, so you're going back to that, eh?" Kozmotis sighed. Right before he'd fallen asleep, Kozmotis had asked the boy for his name and the boy had given him Jack Frost, the name of a popular winter spirit character from various movies and books. Kozmotis had dismissed this as fatigue taking over and delirium. "I always thought Jack Frost was a snowman with a corn cob pipe and and a top hat."

The boy muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "Stereotypes." And Kozmotis laughed.

"Alright," he said. "If that's what you want to go with, _Jack Frost._"

The boy didn't respond.

"So, Jack, where do you live?" Kozmotis asked. He needed to get some information about the boy if he intended on helping him further. Jack Frost was obviously not his real name he needed that to find his family. If he was an orphan, then his name would surely be in records somewhere.

'Jack' didn't answer.

"Are your parents dead?"

Jack nodded slowly, obviously trying to keep movement to a minimum.

Good that meant orphanages weren't out. "Which orphanage were you sent to?"

Jack didn't respond.

"Jack, I need to know. There's no shame in being an orphan." He was trying to sound kindly and he thought he was succeeding, but the boy refused to answer.

"Fine. Have it your way." Kozmotis said, standing up and leaving the boy. "If you don't tell me than I have plenty of influence around this town. I'll get the truth, somehow or another."

The boy was stubborn. He had to admit that. Kozmotis turned away and headed back down the hall to his living room, mentally listing all the surrounding orphanages and homes for runaways that might have information on this boy. There were three within city limits that he knee of. He would need to call in a few favors, but he would get it done. During his years teaching elementary school, Kozmotis had also been assigned the job of counselor for his class and six of the others. Students came to see him at recess and lunch and talk to him about their problems. Schoolwork, home, things like that.

He'd helped them in any way he could and that was that. Until one day. . .

It started with one girl, a seven-year-old named Lacy who got beat by her father. Kozmotis helped her file an abuse charge and she and her mother were put on disability and the man was sent to jail. Since then, ten or sometimes twenty kids showed up at his office with problems and he helped quite a lot of them. Some had physically abusive parents, some who's parents were neglectful or did drugs. Some who just couldn't cope with the stress of their home lives and school work.

There was one memorable occasion where a girl, Clara, came to his office one day and, after being asked to sit and tell him what was wrong broke down into a storm of crying and begging for help. He'd waited for her to stop crying, given her a few tissues and then slowly, bit by bit, got her to tell him what had happened. According to Clara, her mother had over-dosed on heroine and the girl wanted to stay in school, so she hadn't told anyone about it.

Kozmotis had reassured her that everything was going to be alright, called the police and informed them of her mother's death. They took the body away and he'd been given custody of Clara, since apparently she didn't have _any_ living kin. Then he had called an orphanage and asked to speak to the person in charge of adoptions. They had talked and the woman, who's name was Luna and had since become one of his best friends, had arranged for an adoption request to be put through.

A few days later, a family had called and asked if they could meet Clara. They met, she loved them, and the adoption had been put through with out any delay. He still talked to the girl sometimes, who called him her uncle instead of her teacher. She was almost fifteen now and wanted to be a counselor, like him. Helping that girl had earned him a medal for _services to youths,_ which they presented it to him in City Hall and when they did, all the children he had helped came and sang _Amazing Grace _to him, with Clara happily l leading. He'd been so proud that day. The memory always brought tears to his eyes.

_Focus! _Kozmotis told himself, pulling out of his memories and brushing away the tear that was leaking down his face. _I need to find that boy's home!_

He called every orphanage he could find in his phone book, in the city and several miles outside the limits, but no one had ever heard of a boy with white hair who called himself Jack Frost. Kozmotis sighed and picked up the phone again. Luna was his last chance, but when she'd picked up the phone and he'd told her about Jack, she didn't had any good news.

"I'm sorry Koz, but he's not in our system." Luna said after checking and rechecking about half a dozen times. "Have you called Tracy?"

Kozmotis ran a hand through his thick, black hair. "_Yes_, I've called Tracy. She can't seem to find him either! It's like the boy's a ghost!"

"Maybe he gave you the wrong name." Luna said thoughtfully. "Kids do that when they don't want to be found."

Kozmotis nodded. "I've thought about that. Jack Frost is obviously a nick-name and he won't tell me his real name, so that's a dead end."

"What if you give me a description?" Luna said gently. She could tell Kozmotis was stressed about this boy. "I might be able to track him down in the _missing_ sections of the papers."

"Yes, that's a good idea. OK." Kozmotis paused, thinking. "He has white hair, not bleached. At least, I don't think it is. Or dyed. I think he might be an albino, but his eyes are bright blue. Almost cobalt or even sapphire. He's about five ten. He looks about fourteen and he's really really pale. Like, flour pale."

"OK, let's see if I got it. Black hair, red eyes, ten five, fourteen and dark-skinned."

Kozmotis growled. "I don't have time for your jokes today, Luna!" he said angrily.

"Yeesh, sorry Koz." Luna said. "White hair, blue eyes, five ten, fourteen and pale. That right?"

"_Yes._"

There was the sound of typing on the other end and Luna's apologetic voice came through the speaker. "I'm sorry Koz, but we don't have anyone matching that description here. And before you ask, yes, I checked the missing persons. Nothing there about a white-haired boy or someone named Jack Frost."

Kozmotis sighed. "Alright. Thank you." He was about to put down the phone and head back to the room to check on the boy when Luna's voice came through the speaker again.

"Hey, Koz." she said.

"What?" Kozmotis said, rubbing his face tiredly.

"How many places have you talked to?"

"All of them." he replied sourly. "And they all told me the same thing you did. _I'm sorry Mr. Pitchner,_" he said, mimicking the voice of the snobby receptionist for the orphanage closest to his house. "_But we don't have anyone by that name or fitting that description on our books. Good day. _Bah!"

"Koz, listen." Luna said evenly. "I know this may sound crazy, but have you maybe considered that the boy _might _be a ghost?"

Kozmotis frowned. "Luna, there are no such things as ghosts."

"I know, I know. Just hear me out." Luna said. "You know how orphanages are always short of money and space?"

Kozmotis nodded. "Yes."

"And how they always seem to have more kids that can't or won't be adopted because of their behavior?"

He nodded again. "Yes, but-"

"Well, there is a protocol for that. Most orphanages never use it on the grounds that it's inhumane and cruel, but once, every so often you see it."

"_What_?" Kozmotis asked. He was getting frustrated now, and he didn't like being the last person to know things.

Lune took a deep breath.

"For heaven's sake Luna, just _tell _me!"

"It's called the _ghost protocol._" she said finally. Her voice was sad and slightly distant. "When a child does something really bad, like try to kill someone or torture a pet, the orphanage has to act. So, rather that send that child to juvenile hall, they chose the ghost protocol, which erases their existence They have no family. No past. No name. They are thrown out into the streets and, if they turn up in custody of someone like your boy has now, the police and the paramedics and everyone else who can help him pretends that he doesn't exist."

Kozmotis nodded slowly. "Yes, that explains why the hospital people turned me away when I went into the emergency room with the boy. That explains the paramedic! That explains everything!" then he stopped, horrified at what that might mean. "But then-"

"I could be wrong." Luna said quickly, following his train of thought. "But if the police and paramedics are ignoring him, then it's almost a certainty that the boy is a ghost."

Kozmotis nodded slowly. He understood. There might be a murdered in his house. But he didn't care. "What can I do?" he asked.

"I-"

"Luna, he's just a boy. Whatever he did, I _can't_ have that ruin his whole life."

Luna sighed. "I don't know Koz. I've never seen a ghost-child bounce back. Heck, I've never _seen_ a ghost-child, _period_! I just learned about them from Al, our custodian, a few years back. He told me all this and I'm fairly sure I'm not supposed to be telling you."

Kozmotis sighed. Why did it have to be him? Was it like, some sort of cosmic joke? To have the troubles of kids dumped upon him for years and then, when he was finally free, to dump the biggest problem of them all on him?

_No, _he thought._ They aren't problems. I want to help them. I **need** to help him! I need to. . ._

"I don't know what I need to do." he whispered to himself.

"I know Koz. I don't know either." and then Luna hung up.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Several hours later, Kozmotis was still on the phone. Now he was talking to his wife and daughter. They would be coming home in a week and he didn't want the boy to come as a shock to his wife.

"Koz, you have to help him!" Sara said. Kozmotis smiled. She was using her 'lawyer voice'. This was her voice she used in court and it brooked no argument.

"I know I have to help him Sara, I just don't know how!"

"Why not ask the police about this _Ghost protocol _thing? Maybe they can shed some light on the subject." his wife suggested.

Kozmotis sighed. "I already did that."

"And?" his wife prompted.

"A_nd_," he said through gritted teeth. "They acknowledge that there is such a thing as the ghost protocol, so Luna wasn't lying-"

"_Kozmotis_! You thought she was lying?" his wife was shocked. "You've known her longer than you've known me!"

"Frankly Sara, I don't know what to believe!" he said, getting up from his chair where he'd been seated nearly two hours. "There is no record of this boy, anywhere. He might be from another state or even another continent! I don't know!"

"Honey, calm down." his wife said. "I know this is hard for you, but you can do it. If anyone can help this boy-" she paused. "What did he say his name was?"

Kozmotis laughed. "_Jack Frost_. Can you believe that?"

"Jack _Frost?_ Like the spirit of winter?" his wife asked, puzzled.

"Yeah. And to make things worse the boy was out in nearly ten degrees in a blue hoodie and thins pants that cut off around the calves. He wasn't even wearing any _shoes_, Sara! It's a miracle he didn't get frostbite."

His wife "Hmmm"ed thoughtfully and he sat back down in his chair again.

"Do you want him to stay, Sara?" he finally asked. If Sara didn't then that was that. The boy would have to be turned over to the Orphanage. Luna would take care of him though. He knew she would, even if he was a murderer. She would try to help him.

"Of course!" his wife said, sounding shocked. "It's not as if we can send him out into the street!"

Kozmotis nodded. That was that then. "Since the paramedics won't help him, I'm going to have to treat his injuries." he said.

His wife made an angry noise. "Hmph. I don't care if he is supposed to not exist. You just _don't_ ignore a child like that! Who knows what kind of life this boy has had!"

Kozmotis nodded. "I agree fully my dear." _What was he going to do?_

"Do you know how to treat his wounds?"

"Only the minor scrapes, bruises and cuts. The broken arm was easy to set but I still have no idea how to fix that rib."

"Honey, we're coming home." his wife said. "No, I don't want to hear _any_ arguments. You need us and we're not going on some pleasure cruise while you stay at home and have to deal with a dying boy."

Kozmotis sighed. "You had another week."

"We'll take two next time." Sara said firmly.

Kozmotis ran his hand through his hair again. He didn't want his Seraphina to see the boy. If he were a killer, that might put his family at risk. Then again, the boy didn't look like one. He looked like a scared little boy.

"Alright." he finally said. "But wait until tomorrow. The flight should bring you in the day after that. Let Seraphina enjoy at least some of her trip."

"Oh, she's enjoying it plenty." Sara said, sounding happy for the first time since he'd called. "We saw the London bridge, Big Ben, and when we got back to our hotel the flag was up, so the queen was at home."

Kozmotis smiled, remembering when he was a boy, passing Buckingham palace and he would point up at the flag whenever it was up, which meant the queen was home.

"And how is my little girl?" he asked.

"Why don't you tell her yourself? She's been waiting patiently like a good girl this whole time."

Kozmotis smiled and waited as the cell was passed from mother to daughter.

"Hi dad!" Seraphina said.

"Hello sweetheart." Kozmotis said, making an conscious effort to sound happy. "Are you having a nice time in London?"

"Oh yes!" she said. "The bookstores here are amazing and mum finally got me a decent copy of The Secret Garden!"

"That's wonderful dear."

"Yeah, and I got a new book called Endymion Spring. It's about a mute boy in Germany and an American boy in Oxford and how their times co-exist and stuff. It's awesome!"

"That sounds very interesting." Kozmotis said. "Do you think you'd like me to read it to you when you get back?"

"Of course dad! You have the best voice _ever_! Better then Orpheus or Mo or even _Meggie_!" His daughter said, listing off characters from one of her favorite books, Inkheart. The characters in the book used their magical voices to read things out of books, so that was a major compliment.

"Thank you sweety." he said.

"Oh, oh, and guess what?"

"What?"

"While we were in the bookshop, the owner gave me some hard candy and my tooth finally came out!"

Kozmotis smiled. Before she'd left, Seraphina had been complaining about her loose tooth and how she didn't want it to come out too soon.

"Don't forget to put it under your pillow tonight." he said.

"Uh uh." she said. "Nope! I'm gonna take it with me and put it under my pillow at home, so the Tooth Fairy doesn't get mixed up where I live."

Kozmotis smiled. "That's a very good idea sweety. Alright. We'll hide it together. Just be sure to wrap it up in a tissue and stick it somewhere it won't fall away."

"OK dad."

"I'm gonna hang up now, alright? I want you to tell your mother I love her and that Jack is going to be alright."

"Jack?" Seraphina asked. He could hear the puzzlement in her voice. Then she gasped and said, "You mean Jack _Frost_?"

Kozmotis frowned. She was probably talking about the nose-nipping Jack Frost. The one from the song, but it never hurt to clarify. "Yes."

"Oh! Can you tell him and Jamie I said hi?"

Kozmotis frowned again. "Jamie?"

"Jamie Bennett. He and Pippa and Monty and Cupcake introduced me to Jack Frost a year ago! He made snowmen with us and then he started a snowball fight and gave us magical ammo! It was awesome!"

Kozmotis nodded thoughtfully. Inside his mind, his brain was reeling. This was a whole new development! Jamie Bennett went to school with Seraphina. She was in the same grade as him and he remembered hearing his name a few times, along with those others. Cupcake, Pippa, Monty. . . and two others. Seraphina always referred to them as _the twins,_ so he didn't know their real names, but this Jamie Bennett was something different. Maybe _he_ knew who this 'Jack Frost' was.

"Honey," he said, just to make sure he was right. "Did Jack Frost have white hair?"

"Uh huh! He had snow-white hair, a blue hoodie, and a big stick that he called a cane with a hook on the end. He can fly too! He took Jamie on a wild sled ride a few months ago and Jamie said that he lost a tooth when a sofa hit him!" Seraphina babbled happily.

Kozmotis blinked. "A sofa?"

"Yeah!" she chirped. "Jamie said that Jack caused a bunch of ice on the road and that made the cars slide, but he made ramps and kept Jamie out of traffic by using his magical ice. One of the cars was a big truck with furniture inside and the back of the truck opened, making all the furniture spill out into the road. Jamie landed in a pile of snow, but then a sofa came out of nowhere and rammed into him and he lost his right front tooth!"

Kozmotis nodded thoughtfully. "I see. Can you give me Jamie Bennett's address?"

Seraphina dutifully recited the Bennett household's address and then, after a moment's pause asked, "Why do you need Jamie's address dad?"

"There's something I want to talk to him about." Kozmotis replied as he finished jotting down the words with a pen on his hand. There wasn't a pad of paper handy.

"About Jack?"

"Yes."

"Oh. OK. Tell him and Jack I said hi."

Kozmotis nodded. He was miles away. "I will sweety." He promised. Then he hung up.

Ten minutes later, Kozmotis had his hat on one hand and his keys in the other. If this boy, this Jamie, had any information about Jack then he needed to see him, and soon. The boy was obviously in pain and he was burning up as well. His temperature was about the normal range, and yet he was perspiring like he was running a hundred and fifty.

"Jack!" Kozmotis said, shaking the boy. "Jack, listen to me!"

The boy mumbled something unintelligible and rolled over to face him. His face was still pale and he was slick with sweat. His eyes were still closed.

"Jack, if that is your name, you need to listen." Kozmotis said again. "Do you know a boy named Jamie Bennett?"

The name jerked some recognition with Jack and he tried to speak, but the pain was too much and he started to convulse.

"OK, OK," Kozmotis said, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder and easing him down. "Easy. Easy. I'm going to Jamie Bennett's house to get some answers about you, since you can't or won't give them to me yourself."

Jack's eyes shot open and he yelled something that sounded like, "NO!" but most of his mouth was pressed firmly into the pillow, so it sounded like "NNNNNNN!"

Kozmotis sighed. "Jack, I must know who you are in order to help you. If this Jamie Bennett knows you, then I am going to see him. You need help, and I can't give it to you without knowing who you are and whither you have a good heart."

Jack made several angry noises and tried to move, but Kozmotis held him still. "_Why can't you just listen to me?!" _he hissed, putting a bit more pressure than was necessary on Jack's shoulder, making him moan in pain. "I'm trying to help you and I _can't do that if you knock yourself out with all this movement!"_

Jack's thrashing subsided and his eyes slowly closed to slits. Kozmotis sighed. He could see the anger and frustration in those eyes and it distressed him, but he needed to go to save this boy's life. He put a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder and said, "Please don't try to get up or run. You'll die from blood loss. I'll be back shortly."

Kozmotis turned away and, shrugging on the thick, black trench coat he kept for emergency-cold weather, headed out into the night.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello ladies and germs. Not much for this author's note, except the disclaimer and the thankyous to my great reviewers. Thank you a lot.** **Oh, and I don't own RotG. I wish. Then I'd own Pitch, and who knows what I'd do then!**

* * *

It took him ten minutes to get to the address Seraphina had given him. There was a light on the front porch but none on in the house. Sounds emanated from behind the thick curtain over the living room window and he guessed that the parents were up late, watching a movie.

He sauntered towards the door, conscious of the **Beware of Dog **sigh clumsily taped to the gate. He didn't know they had a dog. He detested dogs. All animals, really, except horses. One of his many quirks.

Kozmotis reached the front porch without incident and, after taking a few minutes to calm his nerves, knocked sharply on the door. What was he going to say?

"_Good evening Mr. and Mrs. Bennett, could you please wake your son? I have some questions for him regarding a dying boy I found on the street, by name of Jack Frost. You haven't heard of him, by any chance, have you?"_

"Right." he muttered under his breath. "Like that'd work."

The door opened and, for a second, Kozmotis found himself looking at thin air.

"Ahem." he said, peering into the dark gloom of the house's interior. Then a light flicked on and the hallway was illuminated. It was a typical hallway. A flight of stairs led up at the end and several doors led off the hall to other rooms. Several feet along, on the right side, there was a four-foot gap in the wall that he assumed was for a counter. Kozmotis strained his neck, looking around for the adult that had flipped the lights, but he saw nothing.

He was just about to turn around and leave when he caught a glitter out of the corner of his eye and he looked down. There was a sleepy-looking little girl with wild blonde hair and a pair of fairy wings tied clumsily over her pink unicorn pajamas staring up at him. The wings were bent and they looked like they'd been stained with a thousand different things that day. The girl's hair was sticking out at weird angles and her wide, green eyes stared at him with such a blank curious look that he felt a bit uncomfortable.

The little girl stared at him. He stared at the little girl.

"Ahem." he said again, clearing his throat.

"What you want?" the little girl asked.

"My name is Kozmotis Pitchner, little girl." he answered without realizing why. Maybe it was the way she was just _staring_ at him with those bright green eyes. "What about you?"

The girl's sleepy look suddenly evaporated and she straightened up with a smile. "Uh uh uhhhh." she said, waving her forefinger like teacher. "Momma said I not supposed to give my name to strangers!"

Kozmotis nodded. Good girl. Clever girl. "That's very-" he started to say, but the little girl interrupted him.

"But you no stranger Boogeyman, so you know my name Sophie!"

Kozmotis blinked, bewildered. "Boogeyman?"

"Yep." the little girl chirped. She couldn't have been more than five. "You try to take over world, but my brudder stopped you! He named Jamie! He and Jack Frost beat you up! He told me!"

Kozmotis blinked again. Take over the world? Brother? Jamie?

Then it clicked.

_This must be Jamie Bennett's little sister! _He thought, smiling. He remembered his own daughter at that age. She'd been a bubbly, bouncy literal ball of energy, always running around asking questions. Just like this little girl.

Then something else clicked. She'd said something about Jack Frost, hadn't she? Did she know the boy?

"Sophie," he said, bending down until he was at her level. "Do you know Jack Frost?"

"O course I so!" she said, laughing as if it were the most ridiculous thing in the world to ask. "An' so do you! He beat you up, Boogeyman! Remember?"

Kozmotis frowned. "Sophie, I am not the Boogeyman." he said. "My name is Kozmotis Pitchner."

"No it not!" She said stubbornly, sticking her lip out in an endearing little pout. "Your name Pitch Black! You Boogeyman!"

Kozmotis's mouth creased in a flat, grimacing smile. It was obvious what had happened now. Jamie Bennett had told his little sister stories about him and 'Jack Frost' having adventures together and apparently Jamie had used _him_ as a model for the bad guy. He had no idea why, having never even met the boy. _Well, no matter._ He thought. _I'm sure I do strike a terrifying figure. _The Boogeyman or, Pitch Black, as Sophie called him, must've tried to take over the world in one of his stories and now the little girl couldn't tell the difference between fantasy and reality.

In short, she thought he was the Boogeyman. Which he certainly was not!

"Sophie-" he began but a young boy's voice interrupted him.

"Soph! Where are you, Munchkin?"

Kozmotis straightened up. That was the voice of Jamie Bennett, no doubt about it. But where were his parents? And shouldn't the boy be in bed by now? In fact, shouldn't they _both_ be in bed by now?

The boy was coming towards him, calling out for his sister. "Soph!"

Sophie jutted out her chin. "See, my brudder's here and he gonna stop you Boogeyman! JAMIE!" the last word was shouted at a volume that made Kozmotis cringe.

"_Sophie_!" Jamie said, coming around the corner and, catching sight of his sister, heading straight towards her with exasperated anger on his face. "What are you _doing_? Why is the door open? Mom's gonna be _really mad_ when she comes back and you're not in your bed like a good-" the boy stopped about three feet away from his sister and his voice cut off short.

Kozmotis looked up from the triumphant little girl, wondering why the boy had suddenly gone silent and when he caught the gaze of the brow-eyed, brow-haired eleven-year-old, he was surprised to see a glimmer of fear in his eyes. His hands started shaking and Kozmotis saw his inching towards his sister, ready to grab her and make a run for it. Smart boy. It as never safe to have a younger sibling near a stranger.

Jamie gulped. He was obviously terrified of something, and Kozmotis thought he knew what. _Poor boy. _He thought, trying to look gentle and kind. _Imagine how scary it would be if a strange man turned up at your doorstep and your parents weren't home_. _You'd be at his mercy. _

The boy gulped again and when he finally opened his mouth to speak, Kozmotis heard the fear and uncertainty lacing the words. "He- hello Pitch." he said shakily.

Kozmotis cocked his head. "Pitch?" he asked, trying to sound amused. "My boy I have already explained to your lovely little sister, I am not some mythical monster that hides under beds. My name is Kozmotis Pitchner." he paused, noting the doubtful look on Jamie's face and the defiance in Sophie's. "Perhaps you know my daughter? Seraphina? You are in her grade, after all."

Jamie frowned. "Seraphina?" he repeated. Then his eyes glowed with recognition. "OH! You mean Coal. Wait, she's your _daughter_?"

Kozmotis frowned. He'd never heard his daughter referred to by a nick-name before. Why Coal? _Probably because of her hair,_ he decided. She had his same hair, long and black and nearly impossible to comb out, as his wife would attest.

"Yes, Seraphina is my daughter." he said. "But that's not why I'm-"

"Oh." Jamie said, taking a few steps forward and smiling apologetically. "I'm really sorry about the Pitch thing." he coughed. "I had a run-in with the Boogeyman a few years ago and I guess it's made me a little jumpy ever since." He smiled. "Do you want to come in, Mr. Pitchner?"

Kozmotis sighed. The boy was obviously going along with his sister's assumption to humor her. "Yes, thank you." he replied. "You wouldn't believe how cold it is out here, despite it being April."

Jamie gave him one last apologetic smile and, picking Sophie up and balancing her on his hip, led the way through the hall and into the living room.

As he passed the doors that led to other places in the house, Kozmotis was struck by how _homely_ this place was. Not full of ornaments like vases and pillows or pictures and photographs There was a report card taped to the fridge that he caught a glimpse of, (three B's and a C in math,) but no drawings by little Sophie or photographs of Jamie and his parents. There were papers scattered all over the kitchen counter which looked into the hall and as Kozmotis passed them, he caught the words mortgage and _over-due _several times.

_Huh. So the rest of the family isn't as happy as Jamie and Sophie are. _He thought, looking at the bouncing little girl in Jamie's arms who turned every few minutes to give him a playful glare.

He smiled and stuck his tongue out in a childish gesture that no one else would be able to bring out of him, except a little girl. Be it his daughter or the sister of his daughter's friend, he just couldn't help it.

"You can sit down in here." Jamie said as they entered his living room. It was small, with a two-foot television and plenty of books covering the shelves. The seat Jamie was indicating with the arm that wasn't wrapped around his sister was a black three-person couch in the center of the room. "Ummm, I've got to put Sophie to bed first, then I'll be right down. Do you want anything?"

Kozmotis took a seat and shook his head. "No, thank you Jamie. I don't have time to sit and chat."

Jamie gave him a quizzical look.

Kozmotis nodded at Sophie. "You'd better put your baby sister to bed. She's drooling on your shoulder."

Jamie recoiled, shifting Sophie to the other arm. "Eww! Gross Soph!"

Sophie giggled and Kozmotis chuckled. Jamie put his sister down, wiped the drool off his shoulder and tried to lead her towards the stairs across the room, but Sophie dug her little heels in and demanded that he stop.

"Jamie! We can't leave Pitch!"

Jamie cast an embarrassed look at Kozmotis, who smiled, and then he looked back at Sophie. "Sophie," he said gently. "That's not Pitch. Pitch is bad and mean and he hides under your bed. This is Mr. Pitchner, Sera's father."

"No!" she said stubbornly, trying to wriggle out of her brother's grasp. "That's Pitch! We gotta call Bunny!"

"Sophie!" Jamie said exasperatedly. "We only call the Guard-" he stopped, casting a wary glance at Kozmotis. "We only call the _you know who_, when something _really_ bad is happening." he finished, keeping his eyes locked on Kozmotis.

"I honestly have no idea what you are talking about." Kozmotis said plainly. "But the matter for which I am here cannot wait, so if your sister continues being obstinate then by all means, let her stay, but I can't waste any more time. This is a matter of life and death, Jamie."

Jamie frowned and even Sophie stopped struggling.

"What? What's wrong?" he asked, fear creeping into his voice.

"I think you might want to sit down." Kozmotis said, gesturing to the floor before him.

Jamie nodded and Sophie plopped down right where she was. Jamie scooted over a bit until he was right in front of Kozmotis and followed suite.

Kozmotis took a deep breath. "Jamie, before I tell you why I'm here I need you to promise me two things. One, that you won't interrupt. I don't have enough time to answer a bunch of questions."

Jamie nodded and Sophie bobbed her head furiously, jigging up and down with anticipation.

"Two, I need you to tell me the truth. The whole truth, I mean. Even if you promised someone you wouldn't." he was assuming that the boy, Jack, had asked him to not tell anyone his real name. Well, that was a promise he'd have to break.

Jamie was about to nod, then he stopped in mid-nod raised his head. There was a suspicious glint in his eyes. "Why would I promise someone not to tell-"

"Just promise, Jamie. Please." Kozmotis said, leaning forward earnestly. The boy needed help and this Jamie Bennett might be his only chance.

"OK," Jamie said after a long pause. "OK."

"Thank you." Kozmotis took another deep breath. "Earlier this evening I was out on a walk near the old theater, near the corner of Dickens and Blithe. Do you know the place?"

Jamie nodded.

"Good. Well, while I was walking I saw a boy running from a wild horse. It was a huge, black horse with wild eyes. It chased the boy down and I tried to help him by taking the horse down. I succeeded."

Sophie cheered. "Yay Boogeyman!"

Jamie gave her another look but Kozmotis didn't notice. "The boy was severely hurt and he wouldn't give me his name or his address, so I took him to the ER. The doctors couldn't see him or they chose to ignore him."

Jamie frowned, but he didn't interrupt.

"After that I took him to the police station, but they didn't pay any attention to him either. They tossed me out."

Jamie frowned again and he was about to open his mouth, but Kozmotis raised a finger. "Bear with me Jamie."

Jamie closed his mouth.

"After that I took him to my house and called every orphanage I could think of, looking for someone who might've known him. Nothing." Kozmotis paused, Sophie had closed her eyes and was drooling again, but Jamie didn't seem to notice. He was too focused on listening to him. "Then the boy woke up for a few seconds. I tried to get his name out of him, but he either didn't know his real name or just didn't want to tell me. But he did give me a nick-name. Jack Frost."

Jamie's eyes lit up with excitement, then confusion as he tried to figure out what the older man was telling him. Jack was at his house? How could that be? Adults didn't believe in spirits. But, then again, Mr. Pitchner had said that the medics hadn't seen him, and neither had the police. It _had_ to be his Jack Frost!

At the sound of his name, Sophie woke from her partial nap and blinked, looking sleepily around. "Jack? Where Jack?"

Kozmotis noted this. Apparently Sophie had played with 'Jack' as well as Jamie and his daughter. He wondered how many children around Burgess knew of the mysterious boy who called himself Jack Frost.

"Jack's not here." Jamie said soothingly, rubbing her blonde head gently. "Go back to sleep."

Sophie nodded and closed her eyes and, when he was quite sure she was asleep, Jamie looked back up at Kozmotis. "You said Jack was hurt. How badly?"

"A broken arm, a few cuts and bruises, and a cracked rib. Maybe more than that." Kozmotis replied. "Listen-" but he was cut off.

"Did he have his staff with him?"

"Staff?" Kozmotis repeated, frowning.

"A long, thin piece of wood that has a natural curve at the end, like a hook." Jamie elaborated.

Kozmotis frowned, thinking. "No, I don't think there was a staff like that. Why-" but he was cut off yet again.

"_He doesn't have his staff?"_ Jamie exclaimed. His eyes were wide with fear. "Oh no. Oh nonononono! That's _really_ bad. Jack told me he never goes anywhere without his staff! _Anywhere_!" The boy was working himself up into a panic. "Where could it be?" Jamie looked up at him as he might have an answer. "Did you see it? Please tell me you saw it!"

Kozmotis shook his head. "No, I didn't see a staff anywhere." he said, bewildered for the second time that night. "Why? What's so important about his staff?"

"This is really bad." Jamie said again, ignoring his question. "We need to get to him. Now, before he melts!" Jamie scrambled up and, before Kozmotis could ask him what he meant by _melt_, asked, "You came by car, right?"

Kozmotis nodded blankly.

"Good. Because I can't drive and it's a bit dark for walking." a smile flashed across Jamie's face, then it was re-molded into a nervous grin. Then the grin fell away to be replaced with teeth-clenching worry.

Kozmotis just sat there, trying to figure out what all this meant. His mind was buzzing with questions. Why was the boy so afraid _now_? How much did he know about Jack Frost? And _why_ could he practically smell the fear coming off of the boy, like sour milk.

Jamie picked Sophie up and slung her over his shoulder. She dribbled drool on his shirt. "I've got to bring Sophie with." he explained when Kozmotis gave him a confused look. "She's only five, so she can't take care of the house."

He nodded. Yes, they couldn't leave Sophie all alone. She was only five-

_Wait a minute!_

"Where are your parents, Jamie?" he asked sharply. Jamie had his back to him and was making his way to the hall. "I heard you say something to your sister about them being gone. Is that true?"

"Oh yeah." Jamie replied offhandedly as he headed into the kitchen and set his baby sister down on the counter top. "My mom's gone for the night, but she'll be back in the morning. OK, so where is..." Jamie started getting out a few boxes from unseen cupboards and stacking them on the counter next to Sophie.

Kozmotis frowned. "Isn't that a little irresponsible?" he asked, walking over to the area where the hall melded with the counter-top and there was a four-foot gap in the wall where someone could reach through and grab something without having to go all the way around. "You're only eleven, after all."

"Twelve in two months," Jamie replied peevishly, picking up another apparently heavy cereal box and setting it on the floor beside him. "and besides, I already took the baby-sitting course at the local Red Cross and know all the home safety rules. Where is that blasted thing?!"

Kozmotis allowed himself a small smile and leaned against the other wall. "Like letting your sister answer the door?"

Jamie's brown head popped up from beneath the countertop's sight range. "That was an accident." he said. "I was right there anyway."

"True, but you were several seconds behind her." Kozmotis said. "If I _had _been the Boogeyman as she suggested I was, I probably would've eaten her."

"No, if you'd have been Pitch you would've taken her and tried to use her as leverage for Jack's staff." Jamie replied without looking up. "That's what he tried to do with Baby Tooth, and it worked. Jack gave him the staff and he broke it. He told me so. I can't find it! _Ugh_!" Jamie set down a heavy box and Kozmotis heard a kick being delivered, then a yelp of pain. "I've got to hurry!"

Kozmotis smiled. "That is an interesting bedtime story Jamie." he said. He didn't want to ruin this boy's childhood by ordering him to tell him the boy's real name. If he wanted to believe the boy was Jack Frost, then he guessed he could allow that for a little while longer.

"What are you looking for?" he asked instead, peering over at the boy. He was surrounded by cereal boxed and chip bags.

"The spare key!" Jamie said exasperatedly. "It was here last time I checked!"

"In the cereal cupboard?" Kozmotis asked, surprised. He kept his spare key in a wooden box buried in the flowerbeds, though if his wife ever found out she'd kill him. She loved those begonias.

"Yeah. Don't ask me why. It was my mom's idea. I can't leave without it, otherwise I'll be locked out!"

Kozmotis sighed. "You're going to have to, Jamie. Jack won't last much longer."

Jamie looked up. "How bad is he?" he asked, that touch of fear back in his voice.

"Bad." Kozmotis replied. "He was feverish when I left."

Jamie moaned. "Oh forget the stupid key! I've got to get to him! He's probably half-melted!"

Jamie grabbed Sophie and charged for the door, but something stopped him. Kozmotis watched the boy's eyes widen, his face screw up in concentration, then all emotions drain from his face to be replaced by frustration and a hint of hope.

"Jamie?" Kozmotis asked, taking a step towards the boy.

Jamie jerked and came back. "Drat!" he yelled. Kozmotis flinched at the loud exclamation. "Keep an eye on Sophie for a second, will you? I've got to go grab something important." he set his little sister back on the counter and ran towards the stairs. "Just make sure she doesn't fall over!" he called down after him.

Kozmotis barely had time to say, "What? Wait-" before Jamie was gone running up the stairs, pounding like a two-ton elephant in a bad mood.

Kozmotis sighed and walked around the counted until he was on the same side as the snoozing toddler. She was leaning back against the corner of the counter top, snoring away like a tiny sawmill. Kozmotis smiled. He remembered when his little girl fell asleep like that, leaning against his shoulder or snuggled into his arms. It made him feel warm and happy inside.

Kozmotis sighed again and leaned against the counter-top, thinking about what Jamie had said. Tabulating information. According to him, Jack Frost or whoever the boy really was, had a staff that he had lost. Well, that was neither helpful nor relevant Not many boys ran around with staffs unless they were playing Harry Potter, true, but in today's culture most kids would be pick on for carrying a staff. Actually, the way the boy described it made it sound more like a Shepard's crook than a staff.

_A Shepard's crook_. He thought, frowning with concentration. _That's got to narrow it down somehow. _

Several minutes passed and still Jamie did not come down.

Kozmotis began thinking of other things. The boy's parents. Would they be back before the boy got home? Would they be angry at _him_, the adult? The supposedly _responsible_ one? And what about Jack? From what Jamie had said, he firmly believed this boy to be some kind of spirit and while this would explain the medic not being able to touch the boy and the fact that no one could see him, it didn't explain why he, Kozmotis could see him.

According to popular myth, adults couldn't see spirits. Only children could and children latched on to this idea with a vigor, making up stories about magical fairies that came in the night and fat men who climbed down chimneys. His own daughter believed in them all. The Tooth Fairy, Santa, Sandman, the Easter Bunny, and now, apparently Jack Frost too. It was almost as if these mythological figures were in the same category. What had the boy said earlier?

"We only call the Guard." Kozmotis whispered. Who are the Guard? Another story Jamie spun for his sister? And what was that about the Boogeyman, Pitch Black, holding a _baby tooth _hostage?

Kozmotis shook his head. "I'd better stop before I start to hurt my head. Children have much more vivid imaginations that adults do and to try and understand the way a child's mind works is like trying to find a grain of sand in an ocean of rocks. You keep finding something you don't expect and it throws you off before you can find what you're looking for."

Kozmotis heard several bumps, yells of annoyance, crashes and frantic muttering from the room above them, which he assumed was Jamie's room. He chuckled when something loud broke against the floor and Jamie swore, "CHEESE AND RICE!" and Sophie was still snoring on the counter five minutes later when Jamie came pounding down the stairs, narrowly missing the wall and rounding the corner with a flurry of limbs as he slid forward.

"Whoa!" He said, coming to a halt right in front of Kozmotis. He put out a hand to steady Jamie. "Thanks."

"No problem." Kozmotis said. "I must say, you care a lot about this boy."

"He's my best friend." Jamie replied, tugging on the back of his jeans.

Jamie had changed his clothes while he was upstairs, exchanging his blue pajamas for a sturdy gray sweatshirt, jeans and black boots. He was even wearing a pair of of aviators glasses around his neck.

"The glasses?" Kozmotis asked, smirking.

"A gift." Jamie said. "I don't go anywhere without it. Just like I don't go anywhere without this," he added, turning his back on Kozmotis and pulling something out of his pocket. Kozmotis tried to see what is was, but the boy refused to show him and instead wrapped dropped it into a backpack hanging nearest to him. He zipped the pack up and slung it over his shoulder. "Ready." he said.

"Good." Kozmotis said, appraising the clothes. "At least you had the sense to change your clothes. The weather is going ballistic, I swear." he turned around and headed down the hall, towards the closed door. Jamie picked Sophie up and followed.

"What about your sister?" Kozmotis asked as they filed out through the door. "Won't she be cold?"

"Sophie's tough as nails." Jamie replied, but all the same he took his sweatshirt off and, holding Sophie close to him, slipped it back on again over his and Sophie's heads. He let the sleeves hang limply at his sided as he held onto his younger sister beneath the coat, keeping her warm. He didn't want to take the chance that be might slip.

"Can you get the lights?" Jamie asked. The wind had picked up since Kozmotis had gone inside, even if it had only been twenty minutes ago, and there was a nasty, bitter chill on the wind.

Kozmotis nodded and flipped the switch on the inside of the house, bringing the lights off and plunging the house into darkness. The porch light was still on and Jamie and Kozmotis used that to clumsily navigate to his car. Kozmotis opened both doors with the flick of a button and Jamie dove in, not even bothering to take the coat off. He reached for a seat belt and, with some fiddling and a hand from Kozmotis, finally got him and Sophie belted in.

"That can't be comfortable." Kozmotis commented as he revved the engine, nodding to Jamie's position. The boy was sitting in the passenger seat with Sophie on his lap, her little bare feet sticking out from underneath his sweatshirt and her little arms clasped around his chest. She was sitting like one would sit on Santa's lap at the mall, feet dangling off one side. The belt held her close to him and since she was there, he could barely move.

"It isn't, but I notice you don't have a car seat." Jamie replied.

"The belts tighten quite a lot." Kozmotis said. I have a daughter and she likes to wiggle out of her seat, but the belts tighten so that she can't. It doesn't hurt thought."

Jamie shook his head. When we're in a car, I like to have Soph near me. That way I can keep her safe."

"That's a good thing for a big brother to say, Jamie." Kozmotis said, putting the car into reverse and backing out of the Bennett driveway. When he was clear to turn, he flipped the lights on and then accelerated forward, heading off towards his house. "And what if you aren't there with her?"

"I'll always be there with her." Jamie said firmly. "And if I'm not, well, I only trust Sophie with two people, and one of them is me."

"Who's the other?" Kozmotis asked.

"A very good friend." Jamie replied. "If he's not there to protect her, then. . ." the boy trailed off.

They drove in silence for a bit. Jamie looking out the window, Kozmotis driving, Sophie sleeping. It was all peaceful and quiet and, for a bit, Kozmotis felt calm again. He wasn't worried about the boy or anxious about his wife a little girl. He could even imagine them here, now, sitting in the seat beside him instead of Jamie and Sophie.

His little girl giggling as she followed the moon with her finger through the glass and his wife telling her stories about the man in the moon.

Kozmotis was so enthralled with his memories that he almost missed Jamie's quiet, tentative question.

"The horse, did it look kind of. . . shadowy?"

Kozmotis blinked. "What?"

"The horse that kicked him- Jack. Did it look like a shadow, or sand?"

"Sand?"

Jamie nodded.

"Ummm, I don't know." Kozmotis admitted. The night had been dark, no moon, and he hadn't been paying attention to the horse. No, he'd been more focused on the bleeding boy in his arms.

"Never mind." Jamie looked out the window at the snow-less streets flying past them.

"So," Kozmotis said after a long stretch of silence. "How much do you know about Jack Frost, Jamie?"

Jamie shrugged. "Not a lot. He's a good friend and he keeps me and Sophie safe. We met three years ago. Jack started a snowball fight and we- Monty, Cupcake, Claude, Caleb, Pippa and I, didn't notice him at first. Then, a few days later, we met him again and actually talked to him."

Kozmotis nodded. "Yes, and? What did he say?"

"Not a lot." Jamie said again and repeated the shrugging motion. "He said that he was glad that we believed in him and that we should always believe."

"Always believe." Kozmotis repeated, mulling the words over. "Do you know what that means?"

Jamie didn't answer.

They drove in silence for another period of time, then, as the road to his house was coming up, Kozmotis slowed and spoke. "Do other people not see Jack? Like you didn't see him at first?"

"Oh sure, loads." Jamie said. "Or, at least, that's what he told me."

Kozmotis nodded. "Has he ever said anything to you about his parents?"

"They died." Jamie said. "Three hundred years ago."

Kozmotis frowned as he pulled onto the off-road that led to his house. "Three hundred years? Jamie, that's impossible."

"No, it isn't." Jamie said. "His parents died three hundred years ago when he did. He said that he saw them a lot when he was around his village but he didn't recognize them then because he didn't know who they were, but after he found his memories he recognized them and knew their names again. He even showed me their grave-stones. We put flowers, me and Jack and Sophie, there every year."

Kozmotis nodded. 'Jack' had obviously spun another fairy-tale to Jamie about being some kind of ghost and the poor boy believed it.

"Jamie," he said hesitantly but Jamie cut him off.

"See, Jack is the spirit of Winter." the boy said, sounding like he really believed in what he was saying. Kozmotis sighed. "He died three hundred years ago and was brought back as Jack Frost by the Man in the Moon. It's his job to bring fun and snow to the world. That's why the medic guy you called couldn't see him, because he's a spirit, and spirits can only be seen if they are believed in-"

"Jamie," Kozmotis said, pulling into his driveway. "I know about the story you tell your little sister, about Jack Frost and the Boogeyman, but that's all it is. A story. I just want the truth."

"But I _am_ telling the truth!" Jamie protested. Unbuckling and getting out of the car was a bit tricky with Sophie dead asleep in his arms, but he managed it. "He gave us a snow-day and sent me on a wild sled ride through the streets and-"

"Jamie!" Kozmotis said sharply, wheeling around to face the boy. "I'm done playing games. This boy is going to die if we don't find his family and get some kind of help for him!" then he turned around again and headed towards his door. He could hear Jamie behind him, stumbling towards the front steps. He knew it was cruel to tell the boy about Jack's lying to him and making up stories, but he couldn't think of any other way to get the truth!

_If the boy even knows the truth, _he thought. Then a stab of guilt twinged his stomach. What if the boy _didn't_ know? What if he didn't know _anything_ real about Jack? _Will I have ruined this boy's childhood for nothing? _He wondered, sliding the key into the lock and turning it. The door swung open and he beckoned Jamie inside.

There wasn't a hallway leading anywhere in his house. Just a kitchen on one side and a living room on the other. The library was down the hall and his study, the place where they needed to go, was a door down from that. There was a small, black door that adjoined the two rooms, just like the door that adjoined his and his wife's room, and a cupboard at the far end of the living room where all the old board games he owned were kept.

Kozmotis made his way down the room and towards the study, where Jack would be.

_If he hasn't escaped, _his ever practical mind said.

"Where is he?" Jamie asked.

"In here. Come on." Kozmotis said, beckoning Jamie forward.

Three steps in silence except for Sophie's lumber mill-like snoring, then Jamie's small voice came from behind him.

"I wasn't lying you know."

"About what Jamie?" Kozmotis asked, pausing and turning around to frown at the boy.

"About Jack. He is a three hundred year old winter spirit and he helped save the world from the Boogey-"

"Jamie," Kozmotis said tiredly, raising a hand to stop the boy. "I thought we already went over this? All I need are hard facts to track down his family and get him home."

"But his family is all dead!" Jamie cried exasperatedly. "They died three hundred years ago! Why don't you believe me?"

"Because I only believe what I can see with my own eyes." Kozmotis replied sharply. "If you can give me proof that Jack is a three hundred year old winter spirit then I will believe it. If not, then that proves that Jack is just a sad, confused boy who needs help."

"He's not crazy and neither am I." Jamie said firmly. "Take a look in that room if you don't believe me."

Kozmotis nodded and turned the door handle, absolutely one hundred percent sure that there was nothing out of the ordinary behind that door.

Then he was nearly blinded by the blue and white light the burst from behind the door like a tidal flood, covering everything in blinding light. There was a musical sound accompanying the light, but Kozmotis couldn't make out the individual notes of even discern a familiar tune. It was soft and low, like the ringing of crystals and underneath the mesmerizing sound, there was a voice- no, a whole choir of voices lending their song to the melodious sound of the blinding lights.

"NOW DO YOU BELIEVE ME?" Jamie yelled.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi everybody! Hey, I'm so glad that this story is getting supporters. I think that, with school coming up and me falling into an actual routine instead of getting off my lazy ass and writing whenever I want, I'll be able to stick to some reasonable facsimile of a schedule. Not that I'm promising anything, mind. **

**Anyway, thank you for the reviews, I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

"NOW DO YOU BELIEVE ME?" Jamie yelled, throwing his hand up over his eyes to shield them from the light. Sophie was still in his arms and he had to turn her head against him to keep her from being blinded. Of course, she was awake now and crying.

"Jamie!" she wailed. "No lights!"

Kozmotis was too shocked to speak. The light, the sounds, it was all so beautiful. Like angels and snow, singing and dancing in the room. The door was wide-open now and he could see a figure laying in the center of the room, being consumed by white fire. Icicles hung from the rafters and snow whirled around the room. It was terribly beautiful and Kozmotis found himself wanting to step through and touch the white fire.

"MR. PITCHNER!" Jamie yelled, tugging on his sleeve.

Kozmotis snapped out of his revere and looked down at the boy. The brilliant white light was reflected in his eyes and he looked scared. Sophie was sobbing.

"Mr. Pitchner, I know what this is!" Jamie shouted over the deafening singing. It was so wonderful, yet so terrible.

"What?" he yelled over the noise. "What is it?"

Jamie grabbed into his hand and tried to pull him through the doorway, but Kozmotis was a fully-grown mad and at least two feet taller than Jamie. He wanted to go in, god did he want to- to touch those icicles and feel the white fire, but his common sense smacked him upside the head and he blinked, trying to come back to the situation at hand. Sophie was crying and wailing about no lights. Jamie held her against him and was trying to shout something, but his voice was muffled over the noise and he only caught fragments here and there.

"We can't- him in there! He's- need to get in there!"

Kozmotis shook his head. "No, we can't go in there. I need to get you and Sophie away from here before you freeze to death!" he said, grabbing Jamie's arm and pulled him away from the door.

"It's just Jack!" Jamie said, yanking his arm away from Kozmotis. The child was strong, but he was stronger and he grabbed on to his hand again, pulled the boy back. "Please!" Jamie begged, fighting and trying to slip out of his grasp. "I know what's happening! Jack's going into hibernation and he needs to find a safe place with snow and ice to recuperate NOW, otherwise he'll turn your house into an igloo and he won't wake up for another year! You have to believe me!"

"We can't stay here!" Kozmotis yelled, pulling him down the hall. "It's too dangerous!"

Jamie dug his heels into the carpet and screamed, "There's no time! Jack's about to turn this place into an ice cube and we need to get him out of here, right now! Please, you've got to believe me!"

Sophie screamed, "NO LIGHTS!"

And Kozmotis automatically plucked her from Jamie- who didn't fight, and held her close. "Shush child," He said. "I know the light is uncomfortable." Sophie continued to wail about no lights and Kozmotis knew he would have to get both children away from here, before something _worse_ happened.

Jamie, however, had other ideas and, when Kozmotis picked up his sister the boy broke free of his grasp and ran into the room.

"JAMIE NO!" Kozmotis yelled, but he couldn't go after him while he was holding Sophie. The cold emanating from that room was already chilling him and he had to get her away from here, before she froze. "JAMIE!" he called again, trying to see past the white light and singing, but the boy had completely disappeared into the white light and mist that hung in the open doorway.

Kozmotis briefly thought about running, but he shook his head, disgusted with himself. _I can't just **leave** the boy!_ He thought angrily. _But I can't leave **Sophie** either. _he looked down at the little girl in his arms. She was crying and he gently rocked her, whispering calming words. "Sophie, shh. It's OK. Listen, There's something I need you to do for me, please?"

Sophie looked up at him and he smiled. Her fern-green eyes were red with tears. "I need you to stay here, right here, and don't move, OK? I have to go get your brother."

He gently set her down and she began to cry. "No, Boogeyman! Don't leave me!" she wrapped her arms around his neck and he had to unhook her as gently as he could.

"I'm not leaving." he said, trying to sound sure. "I need to go help your brother, OK? Just don't move, don't cry, and whatever you do, don't go into that room, alright?" he said, pointing to the room that Jamie had disappeared into.

She sniffed and nodded. "OK."

"OK. I'll be back, you hear?" he said, patting her head gently, the same way he did with his own daughter when he had to go to work when she was younger. "I'll just be gone for a minute."

She nodded again and he turned, braced himself, and pushed through the open door and into the room.

Immediately he felt the cold, clammy touch of the temperature effecting him. He moved sluggishly from the moment he crossed the threshold and hen purposeful run turned into a slow trudge. He braced himself against the whirling, biting wind that seemed to come from nowhere and tried to ignore the singing, but that wasn't the only thing speaking in this room.

_Lie down man. T_here seemed to be a voice on the frigid air, whispering into his ears_. It's a fine old bed, ice is. Nothing like snow for a blanket either._ Kozmotis had to pinch his arm to keep himself awake. He could not faint or go to sleep! Two children's lives depended on him! Yet the sound of the enticing voice, mingled with the angelic voices of the snow and ice were almost _intoxicating. _He wanted to lie down! He _needed_ to lie down!

"JAMIE!" Kozmotis yelled. He couldn't see the boy. It was too bright. the white fire consuming Jack was straight ahead and against it's radiant light, Kozmotis could make out the barest hint of a figure. The snow wrestled with him and he forced himself onward. Icicles hung from the ceiling and the floor was covered in patches. Kozmotis stepped lightly around the patches and felt himself shiver. The ice was creeping up his shoes and he had to keep moving to stop his feet from sticking to the floor.

Kozmotis looked up again and for a second, he lost sight of Jamie. The brilliant light was blinding him and he wanted to run far away from the hated light, but the ice stopped him from moving and the only thing that he could do to keep himself awake was to shout the boy's name at the top of his lungs!

"JAMIE!"

There! There he was, standing over Jack's bed, still as a statue.

"JAMIE!"

Jamie didn't respond. He just stood there, staring at Jack and, for an awful moment, Kozmotis thought that Jamie had been frozen solid. Then, as he made his way closer, he saw that the boy was still breathing.

"JAMIE!" he called a third time, hoping against all hope that the boy was still alive. He could feel the ice creeping up his feet and he stomped as hard as he could to break it off. The stop, rather than the calling of his name, seemed to jolt Jamie and he jerked his head, almost turning to look at him, then he turned his head back towards Jack before they could make eye contact.

"Jamie! Blast you boy, look at me!" Kozmotis ordered, wading through the snow that had piled up around Jamie and Jack. He couldn't see the boy's legs and he worried they were frozen.

Jamie only continued to stare down at Jack.

When Kozmotis finally reached the boy, he grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him as hard as he dared, in case the boy really was made of ice and might shatter in his fingertips. "Jamie, speak to me!" he ordered. The boy's eyes were glassy and he didn't respond. "JAMIE!" Kozmotis yelled over the singing, which seemed to have gotten louder. "Jamie, wake up!"

Jamie's eyes, glassy and unresponsive, blinked and slowly, ever so slowly, ever so slowly that it was agonizing to watch cleared. When they did, Kozmotis did not like the look that was on them. the boy's eyes were wide with fear. _Fear?_ Kozmotis thought. _Of what? **H****im?**_

"P- Pitch?" he asked shakily, staring into Kozmotis's face with the look of a petrified small animal.

Kozmotis rolled his eyes. "Jamie, for the last time-" he began, then he saw the fear in the boy's eyes, the terror. He was staring at Kozmotis like he really _was_ the Boogeyman. "Jamie," he began again, more gently that before. "I'm not Pitch Black. It's me, Kozmotis Pitchner. My daughter is Seraphina, Coal," he added, using the nick-name he would probably remember more that her real name, which everybody tried to shorten but he liked it long. "She's in your class and Burgess elementary school. Your sister Sophie is outside, waiting for you. Jack Frost needs your help. You have to come back to me, alright?"

Before Jamie could say a thing, however, the room suddenly shuddered violently and Kozmotis was knocked to the ground. Jamie stayed perfectly upright and staring straight ahead. Kozmotis groaned and pressed his hand to his side. _Just my luck!_ He thought. _As if I didn't have to deal with enough trouble!_ He'd landed on the exact spot in his side that the horse had kicked him. _Horses,_ technically, and it took him a while to get up.

Hid body ached, his mind was whirling, and he felt like a ten thousand year old though, the strange voiced whispering and the singing had all but stopped. Kozmotis raised his head and found himself wishing he could hear their melodious voices once more. Then he looked up at Jamie and saw, where the bed of white fire had been moments before, a glowing boy laying on the bed.

Kozmotis groaned as he stood, one hand on his side. That might need stitches. Now that the light was gone, he could see more easily now. The room looked like an indoor rink with ice crystals jutting up from the floor and down from the ceiling. It was a beautiful winter wonderland that Kozmotis wished he could explore.

Then he shook his head. _What am I, **six?**_ he thought angrily. _I have other things to worry about now. More important things than a child's icy playground. Right now, I need to wake Jamie up from whatever weird trance he's in._

Jamie.

Kozmotis felt a twinge of guilt as he looked at the young boy. He was still in the same position, his eyes glassy and staring down at the boy who was slowly radiating mist and cold. His skin glowed white gently and his hair alone could have lit up the entire house. The boy radiated power and Kozmotis found himself in awe. I had no idea he was so powerful. He thought, wishing he could see Jack in action. he would probably be ten times stronger while fighting.

Then Kozmotis shook his head again. He could be in awe of the winter-boy later. Right now, _Jamie_ was the one who needed help!

He turned to the boy, tearing his eyes away from the white pulsating boy in the bed."Jamie?" he asked hesitantly.

Jamie didn't respond for a few seconds and Kozmotis was about to say his name again, when the boy's face underwent a sudden and perplexing transformation. First the fear in Jamie's eyes completely evaporated, then his mouth- which had been trembling as he stared down at Jack, split into a wide grin. Jamie sighed in relief. "Whew! Thanks Mr. Pitchner. They almost had me." he said.

Kozmotis, taken aback by this sudden mood-swing, took a small step back and stared at the boy. "Um, who almost had you Jamie?" he asked uncertainly.

"The Jotuns." Jamie replied, still grinning. "They are the dark entities that used to control winter before the moon created Jack Frost and now they're stuck inside him. They were temporarily released when Jack was starting his hibernation process, but he got them back under control. He's fine now, but we need to get him to some ice, like, right now, or else he'll start to melt. Do you have an ice maker?"

Kozmotis was too stunned to answer. What the heck-

"Mr. Pitchner, seriously, we don't have time to stand around gawking! Jack needs ice and snow to continue his hibernation cycle and once this room starts to melt, well..." he paused, looking around at the room. "It won't be pretty. So come on! We've got to get him out of here and I can't carry him."

Kozmotis didn't move. "What just happened?" he demanded, staring from Jamie to the glowing boy on the bed next to them. Jack Frost, for of course Kozmotis believed that was who he was now, was lying there peacefully. He had a small smile on his face and his hands were laying at his sides. There was a light dusting of frost covering him and Kozmotis resisted the urge to lean down and brush it away. Ice coated the boy's clothes, his hair, his eye lashes and his face. The blanket that Kozmotis had put over him was stiff with ice.

"Oh, the Jotuns tried to make a bid for power. They do that when he's in a weakened state. But Jack repelled them and now he's in his hibernation cycle. He should come out of it in a week. Maybe more."

"No no," Jamie said quickly. "That was the result of Jack internally fighting with the Jotuns. The magical fallout froze this room, but it'll melt in a few hours. It'll even evaporate, so your house won't have mold. Isn't that cool?"

Kozmotis felt like his head was going to explode. Jack Frost, magic, Jotuns, ice, mold, it was all whirling together in his mind and he wanted it just to _stop_! He clenched his fists and closed his eyes, trying to keep calm. It was a lot for a man to take in so shortly. Heck, it would be a lot for _any_ human to take in this quickly!

"OK," he said slowly. "OK. So, you're telling me that we need to get him into some ice right now."

Jamie nodded.

"Or what?"

"Or he's going to start to melt and it'll take him forever to regain his corporeal body and he'll go around the world as a Jack Frost-shaped whirl of snow." Jamie replied matter of factly.

Fair enough. "OK. I'll get him into my bath tub and run the cold water-"

"No!" Jamie shouted. "_Not_ water!"

Kozmotis winced as the boy's voice echoed around the room. "Why not?" he demanded.

"Because Jack will freeze it and then we'll have to chip away at it with a ice pick and a blow dryer." Jamie said sternly.

Kozmotis rolled his eyes. Of course. "How do you know all this?" he demanded, giving Jamie a puzzled look.

Jamie smiled. "When Jack was fighting with the Jotuns, his memories were on the blink and I got there at just the right time to catch what was, in this time, a glimpse but in Jack's memories was dang-near his entire life. All three hundred years. So I know now everything about Jack Frost, including some things he probably didn't want me to know." Jamie added, smirking like a child about to play a prank.

"Like what?" Kozmotis asked, interested in spite of himself.

"Like his secret crushes on the Tooth Fairy and Halle, the spirit of Halloween." Jamie replied. "Anyway, come on. Jack's not getting any solider!"

Kozmotis rolled his eyes again and bent down to pick the winter spirit up.

Or, at least, he tried to. It seemed the boy was frozen to the bed and, after several failed attempts to lift the boy, he decided just to take the mattress too. Luckily, Jack was incredibly light for his size and the mattress he was frozen to was light too. Jamie tried to help by lifting one end, but he dropped it on his toes and Kozmotis told him to go take care of his sister instead. Jamie agreed and headed off to the living room with Sophie in his arms. She was overjoyed to see her brother again.

"JAMIE!" she squealed when he came out of the room, flinging herself at him and hugging his knees tightly. "Why'd you go?"

"I had to, Soph." he said, hugging her back. "But I'm back now."

"Ahem!" Kozmotis said from behind Jamie. He was holding Jack and the mattress in his abnormally long and thin arms and he really didn't want to stand there any longer than he had to.

"Oh, right. Come on Soph." Jamie said, picking her up and heading towards the living room. "Mr. Pitchner has something to do really quick."

"Bye bye Boogeyman." Sophie said, waving to Kozmotis over her brother's shoulder.

Kozmotis rolled his eyes and made his way sideways down the hall in the opposite direction, heading towards his bathroom. Luckily, the tub he'd installed was a big one and he laid the narrow mattress on the bottom of the tub with no problem. Jack hadn't moved the entire time and he didn't move when Kozmotis left him to get that bucket of ice.

When he passed the living room he peeked in to check that the children were safe. They were. Jamie was sitting on the black couch and was holding Sophie close, singing gently to her.

Kozmotis smiled and listened to the words as he headed into the kitchen that adjoined the living room.

"Sweet fairy maiden, harken to me. A ring of golden daisies, there shall be for thee. If you go to sleep and dreamland you see, and bring back some dreamsand from the Sandman for me."

It was a strange little ditty and Kozmotis wondered where Jamie learned it. It sounded old, will all those _thees _and _harken_s, and he made a mental note to ask the boy when this Jack Frost affair was over.

He picked up a bucket from beneath the sink and crossed the black and purple checkerboard-tiled floor to the big black fridge. He opened the freezer part and was glad to see a full ice-maker. He scooped all there was into the bucket and then set the dial for extra, then he shut it and allowed the ice maker to do it's work. When he got back to Jack, he was dismayed to see the frost had already melted and soaked into the boy's clothes and the mattress

"Oh crap," he swore, dumping the ice on the boy's body. Jack didn't react to it. Kozmotis didn't know if he should spread it around or not, but after debating for a few seconds he decided against it and left the boy, intent on grilling Jamie about what the heck had just happened.

When he reached the living room, Sophie was curled up in the big black armchair by the cold fireplace that him and his daughter used to sit in and read. Jamie was sitting on the couch with his hands in his lap, looking at them intently.

"Jamie." Kozmotis said softly, trying not to startle the boy.

Jamie looked up and smiled. "Oh. Hey." he said, sitting up straighter.

"Jamie, we need to talk." Kozmotis said, trying not to sound angry, even though he was slightly. What had the boy been thinking, running in there regardless of the danger? What if his friend hadn't helped him? What if-

"I know. You want to know about Jack, don't you?" Jamie asked.

Kozmotis nodded.

"And I suppose you'll believe me, in light of what just happened?" he asked, staring at him.

Kozmotis nodded. "After that, not believing would be very foolish." he said.

"True." Jamie said.

They sat in silence for a bit, then Jamie said, "So, you already know he's a three hundred-year-old winter spirit. You know his family is dead and that almost no one can see him, and you know that he needs frigid conditions to survive. Anything else?"

Kozmotis blinked. The boy sounded different that when he'd first met him. Older, somehow. He sounded like a teenager already, and not just a kid.

"Um, well," he said, frowning. What else was there to know? "How did you meet this Jack Frost?" he finally said.

Jamie smiled. "Oh. Well, he started a snowball fight three days before Easter with me and my friends. Of course we couldn't see him because we didn't believe in him, so we all thought it was each other and that started a massive snowball fight. Then Jack hit Cupcake, one of the older kids, and she started laughing and chasing us around with a snowman head. See, that's Jack's thing. Fun. He's the spirit of winter and fun."

Kozmotis nodded thoughtfully. "Interesting."

"Yeah, and it's cool too!" Jamie said, laughing at his lame pun. "Anyway, after several instances involving a wild sled ride, the Boogeyman raiding the Tooth Palace, killing the Sandman temporarily and the Easter Bunny shrinking to the size of a normal bunny-" here Jamie snickered. "Oh man, you should've seen him. He was so cute and fluffy! And he still had the big bunny voice and the accent. It was adorable!"

Kozmotis gave him a strange look and Jamie coughed. "Ahem. Anyway, Jack and I go way back."

Kozmotis laughed. "If I had been a different man, I probably would've thought you were crazy, regardless of what I've seen." he said, smiling. "Not that I do," he added quickly. "In fact, I completely believe you."

Jamie sighed with relief. "Whew." he said.

"But," Kozmotis said, raising a finger. "I also don't know anything about this Jack Frost's personality. Is he a good person?"

"Oh yeah." Jamie said. "A little mischievous, but he's a really good guy. Trustworthy too. Besides Bunny, he's the one person I absolutely trust with Sophie."

Kozmotis frowned. "You trust the Easter Bunny with your younger sister?" he asked dubiously.

"Yeah." Jamie said. "But whatever you're picturing when I say _Easter Bunny,_ it's wrong. He's much cooler than whatever you're thinking of. He's actually six feet tall with an extra foot long ears and wooden boomerangs. His fur has tattoos dyed into it and he's freaking awesome!"

Kozmotis raised his eyebrow. "Interesting. I would certainly like to meet this Easter Bunny."

"Bunnymund." Jamie corrected. "E. Aster Bunnymund is his name, but we all call him Bunny."

Kozmotis nodded thoughtfully. "Hmm. Interesting."

"Yeah. They're all pretty cool." Jamie said.

Kozmotis raised his eyebrows again. "All?" he repeated.

Jamie coughed and looked sideways. He seemed suddenly nervous.

Kozmotis frowned. "Jamie, are you alright?" he asked, looking at the boy.

"I'm fine." Jamie said a bit too quickly.

Kozmotis gave him another look. "_Jamie_," he said warningly.

"Jamie." said another voice. A quiet, female one from across the room. Both Jamie and Kozmotis looked up. Sophie was sitting up in her chair and rubbing her eyes. "I saw the lights." she said in a sleepy, yet scared voice.

Jamie stood up and headed over to his little sister. "Hey Soph." he said, sitting down in the big chair. "Did you have a dream about the white light?"

Sophie nodded. "No lights." she murmured, snuggling up against her big brother. "Pitch stopped them."

"Shhh. Shhhh." he said gently, choosing to ignore the the Pitch comment. "It's alright. There are no lights."

Sophie yawned and closed her eyes. "No lights." she murmured again.

"I know Soph, there are no lights now. Calm down. It was..." Jamie paused and, for some unknown reason, shot Kozmotis a look across the room. "It was a bad dream."

Kozmotis raised an eyebrow but didn't reply.

Sophie, who was almost asleep, raised her head and blinked sleepily at Kozmotis. She screwed up her mouth in a small frown. "No more bad dreams Boogeyman." she ordered, raising her little first finger and pointing at him. Then she allowed her head to flop back down on Jamie's shoulder and closed her eyes.

Kozmotis was too shocked to reply. Why did the child persist with calling him the Boogeyman? It was irritating at most and disturbing as well.

When Jamie was sure his sister was asleep, he stood up and looked at Kozmotis. "I need to take her home." he said. "Before my mother gets there."

Kozmotis frowned. "I thought your house was locked. You left the key."

Jamie nodded. "You're right. Drat." he said, sitting down on the couch. He seemed to be thinking deep thoughts about something.

Kozmotis and Jamie sat there in silence for a little bit, then Jamie spoke. "What if I stayed here?" he asked, turning to Kozmotis.

Kozmotis was taken aback. "What?" he asked incredulously.

"Me and Sophie." Jamie said. "What if we stayed here?"

Kozmotis blinked. "Jamie," he began.

"I know, I know," Jamie said, raising his hands. "But it would only be for a day. Besides, you haven't a clue how to take care of Jack. I have his memories, so I know what to do if he starts to melt."

Kozmotis sighed. "Jamie." he began again.

"Listen, if you're worried about my mother, don't." Jamie interrupted again. "She won't be back until nine tomorrow morning."

"Jamie," Kozmotis began a third time with a note of steel in his voice.

"Really, if you're worried I can text her or write a note and stick it to the front door. I'll tell her that I'm hanging out with Coal- er, Seraphina." he said apologetically. "And that I've been given the permission of her parents to spend the night. That should take care of it. Sophie will love to sleep over-"

"Jamie!" Kozmotis interrupted, raising his hand. "I'm sorry, but I can't allow you and your sister to stay here. It would be irresponsible on my part and I can't allow you to lie to your mother."

Jamie sighed. "Please, Mr. Pitchner?" he begged. "I swear we won't be a bother. We'll sleep out here and I promise we'll be back home in the morning. Please?"

Kozmotis sighed. "Jamie, it's just not practical. My wife and daughter won't be back until tomorrow as well and personally, I don't want to get a talking-to from your mother when she comes home and realizes that her son and daughter are at the house of a man she's never met." he said firmly and he expected Jamie to look dejected, but- surprisingly, the boy smiled.

"Well, Mr. Pitchner, I really didn't want to do this..." the boy said, sighing as if he was about to do something morally questionable. "But I'm afraid I don't have a choice."

Kozmotis's eyes narrowed. "What?" he asked suspiciously.

Jamie raised his head and his eyes twinkled with mischief. "Well, the door to my house is locked and I don't have a key. That means I can't get home." he said coolly. "Anyway, I don't know which would be worse. Allowing us to stay here, or leaving us at the door of our house to freeze to death."

Kozmotis's eyes widened. "You-" he said, then he glared at the boy. "You planned this, didn't you?" he asked, trying not to smile.

"Did I plan to stay here to keep an eye on my best friend because it was the smartest idea that I could think of, and because I wanted to get out of that boring old house?" Jamie asked, smiling. "Yes. Yes I did."

Kozmotis openly laughed. "You're a smart boy, Jamie." he said, standing up and giving the boy a smile. "Alright, you win. I do need your help with Jack and I might as well let you stay over. But only tonight, mind you." he said, pointing a stern finger at Jamie. "Tomorrow morning, you'll be back in your own house. You can come over later, if you want, but I do want you to text your mother and tell her you're staying over. Alright?"

"Alright." Jamie agreed. "Do you have a phone?"

Kozmotis blinked. "You don't?"

Jamie shrugged. "Mom never bought me one. I'm just a kid, after all." he said, giving Kozmotis a wink.

"I see." Kozmotis said, resisting the urge to grin. "Yes, you may use mine." he said, digging into the pocket of his black jeans for his cell phone. It was a black flip-screen and quite worn, but he liked it. "There." he said, handing Jamie the phone. "Pray, don't drop it."

Jamie nodded and gently took the phone, sliding it open and typing in the number for his mother's phone. He spent about five minutes typing, then he pressed the **send** button and handed it back to Kozmotis. "There. She knows now. We're good."

Kozmotis nodded and took the phone. He briefly checked the sent box and saw that Jamie had indeed sent a short message.

_Mom, staying over at friend's. Don't panic if you come home and find me and Soph gone. Be back around noon. Love, Jame._

Kozmotis blinked. _Noon?_

"Something wrong?" Jamie asked.

"Oh no." Kozmotis said, quickly putting his phone away. "Just checking something." he smiled. "Now, where do you suppose you and your sister are to sleep?" he asked, gesturing to Jamie's sister.

Jamie shrugged. "I was thinking the couch for me and the chair for Soph. She seems comfortable."

Kozmotis pursed his lips. "Hmm. I think a regular bed would be more suited to you, young man. I have a small spare room with a bed down the hall."

Jamie didn't look convinced. "Um... thanks, but I prefer to be nearer to Sophie. If she wakes up and finds me not there..." he trailed off.

Kozmotis nodded. "I understand completely." he said. "Now, it's quite late, and I think we should follow your sister's example and go to sleep. I'll get you a blanket and one for your sister."

"Thank you Mr. Pitchner." Jamie said, smiling.

"Oh please," Kozmotis said over his shoulder as he headed down the hall to the closet where the spare blankets were kept. "Call me Kozmotis."

Jamie nodded. "OK, Kozmotis." he said, smiling.

Kozmotis came back carrying a pair of blankets, both purple. "There. That should keep you warm." he said, handing Jamie one and laying the other over Sophie's curled up body.

Jamie smiled again. Kozmotis wasn't that bad.

"Are you quite sure you're going to be alright?" Kozmotis asked as Jamie shook the blanket out and laid down on the couch.

"Yes, I'll be alright." Jamie said. "Thank you so much Kozmotis."

Kozmotis smiled in return. "It's no trouble at all, Jamie. I'll see you in the morning."

Jamie nodded and closed his eyes. Kozmotis lingered in the living room for another few seconds, then he walked to his own bedroom and closed the door. The blissful darkness after that traumatizing light was so welcome and he let out an "Ahhhh," of ecstasy. He quickly changed into his normal black silk pajamas and crawled under the covers, relishing the thought of sleep. After such a long day and hardly any sleep the night before, he figured he deserved a visit from the Sandman.

As his head hit the black pillow and he closed his eyes, he found himself missing his wife terribly and touching the side she normally occupied. _She will be home soon,_ he thought. _Tomorrow they'll be home. And then Jamie's mother will be home, and then I'll have to explain to my wife how there's a hibernating winter spirit occupying her bath tub._

Somehow, that did not seem fun, yet the idea of saying that straight-out to his wife seemed to ridiculous that he actually laughed. Then he sighed and dug his face into the pillow. "Whatever will be will be." he muttered, quoting a famous song he was too tired to remember right now, and as the albino winter child slept in the room across the hall and the two Bennett siblings drifted off, Kozmotis Pitchner felt himself finally slipping away into dreamland.

"Whatever will be will be."

It's amazing how a few small words can mean so much in the days to come.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi everybody! I hope you guys all had a restful summer and are now ready to get back to that demonic grindstone we call school! **

**Well, most of you anyway. From what I've seen, about half of you guys are home-schooled. Yay homeschool! Is there seriously anybody who likes regular school?**

**Ahem. Sorry. Once I get stuck on the public school system rant I just can't stop! And that's not what we're here for, is it? :)**

**I'm so glad that you guys started reading my story again and I hope that this chapter meets your expectations. enjoy!**

**Oh, and I don't remember _ever_ putting a disclaimer on here, so I think I should do that. I don't own RotG. I wish, but if wishes were fishes, we'd all be swimming.**

* * *

In the morning, when Kozmotis opened his eyes, he realized he felt more relaxed and rested than he ever had before. His body was warm and relaxed, his head wasn't pounding any more and he seriously felt like staying in that bed all day.

"But I can't." he whispered to himself. He reached up, pushing the covers off of himself and rubbed his face to get the crusty bits off of the corner of his eyes.

_Dreamsand_, he thought with a smile. _That's what I always tell Seraphina. It's the Sandman's dreamsand._

Sandman's dreamsand or not, Kozmotis knew that he had to get up. He had guests, and he needed to make sure they were alright. He checked the clock on the bedside table next to him. Eight sixteen. Much later than he usually got up. Kozmotis yawned and stretched, popping his elbows and back slowly. Then he laced his fingers together and popped all ten knuckles and toes. This was a strange quirk of his, being able to pop all his knuckles. No one else he knew could crack all their fingers, much less crack all their toes as well.

Kozmotis stood and dressed in his normal black jeans and black T shirt. Most people, including his wife, wondered why on earth he had such a fondness for black. In truth, he didn't know why he preferred the color himself. It was a drab color that reminded Kozmotis of night and shadows. Yet he found it comforting and sometimes even reminiscent, like there was some forgotten reason why he wore it and he still continued to wear the color in his clothes and on his possessions to this day.

After brushing his black hair back into a ponytail and tying it, he gave his face a quick look in the mirror to the left of his bed. His face was it's normal shade of pale peach that all Englanders had and his chin clean-shaven. There were small bags under his eyes and he rubbed his face to get rid of them. He hated crow's feet. Then, slipping on a pair of black loafers, he headed out into the hall and towards the living room. No doubt Jamie and Sophie would be up already and bored out of their young minds.

"What am I going to give them to eat?" he wondered aloud. Jamie would no doubt eat anything because he was so polite, but what about Sophie? When Seraphina was her age, she ate almost nothing but cheerios. Kozmotis smiled. She'd grown so thin in that year that he'd teased her by trying to run his wedding ring through her little arm. His wife hadn't found it funny and as a result of her thinness she ended up going on a high-calorie diet for a few months to get her back to a healthy weight.

When he entered the living room, he found Jamie sitting on the carpet with his back to him and Sophie sitting on his big, black chair, reading a book. Kozmotis blinked. The book was big and bound in red leather and, as he walked behind the couch and closer to her, he could see that the book she was reading was his own copy of the Arabian Nights. It was a book that both Seraphina and his wife loved, though Seraphina couldn't read it because it was a very advanced book, so he was kind of skeptical that Sophie was actually reading it, instead of looking at the brightly-illuminated pictures.

"Enjoying that, little miss?" he asked, bending over to look over her shoulder. It was Arabian Nights, alright. She was looking at the picture of a Chinese genie or Djinni, as the proper term is, rising up from a magical ring and towering over the poor serving boy that must be Aladdin.

Sophie jumped and looked up at him, snapping the book shut. "Bad Pitch, spying like that!" she said, wagging her little forefinger.

Kozmotis smiled and ruffled her blonde hair that was sticking up in odd little spikes. She had the purple blanket he had given her the night before draped around her shoulders and she looked like she was having a good time. "And a good morning to you too, Sophie."

Sophie's stern little expression completely disappeared and she smiled, standing up and hopping off the couch. "Good morning Pitch!" she said, running around the side of the couch and launching herself at him, giving his knees a strong hug. "Good morning! Good morning! Good morning!"

Kozmotis, who had experienced this kind of thing with his own daughter, took the hug evenly and smiled and she repeated "Good morning!".

"Don't worry, she does that to everyone." Jamie said, sliding something behind his back and dropping the blanket he had wrapped around himself over it. This caught Kozmotis's attention and he gave the boy a questioning look. "It's nothing of yours." Jamie said quickly, nodding at the bundle of blankets. "Well, the blanket is, but I'd prefer not to show you what's underneath."

Kozmotis nodded. "That's alright Jamie, I don't think you're a thief" he said.

Sophie let go and said. "No thief!" then she laughed and started running around in circles.

Kozmotis watched this with interest. "Does she always do that too?" he asked her brother.

"Oh yeah. She's a little ball of energy." Jamie said, laughing as his sister narrowly avoided running into the wall. Then he glanced over at the book on the couch and said nervously."Oh, um, I didn't know if you would mind her reading the Arabian Nights. I got it off the shelf over there," he pointed to the shelf beside the big black chair. "She was getting fussy and I thought that reading-"

"It's quite alright Jamie." Kozmotis said, interrupting the apology. "Though, forgive me if I'm skeptical, but Sophie isn't really reading the book, is she?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "She's just looking at the pictures, right?"

Jamie smiled. "Oh no, she's reading it." he said proudly. "We have our on copy as home and I decided to teach her how to read when she was two. She picked it up and as soon as she was able to talk, she learned to recite the whole book. She loves it."

Kozmotis raised an eyebrow. "Really?" He was surprised. "Well, that's an interesting bit of information." He smiled and went to pick up the book. "It's good that children are interested in reading these days." he said, turning it over in his hand. No pages torn, no dog-ears. It really looked like she'd been reading it. "I actually thought you would have the television on first thing when you got up." he confessed, striding across the room and putting the book back on the shelf.

Jamie shifted nervously. "Oh. Well, I thought that it might wake you up. Sophie wanted to, but I decided that, since we're the ones staying over here, we should be respectful and keep as quiet as possible until you woke up."

Kozmotis smiled. The boy was very polite, something that wasn't all that common in modern American children. Most teenagers were surly and irritable and the children were whiny and bratty, always wanting things. Toys, games, things like that. But Jamie was absolutely none of these things. He was kind, generous, and he was a very clever boy. Kozmotis was reminded of himself at that age when he looked at Jamie, just like he was reminded of his own little girl when he looked at Sophie.

"That's very kind, Jamie. And in all honesty, I do prefer a good book to listening to that beastly idiot box." he added, giving the television a glare.

Jamie nodded. "I prefer books and video games. TV has too many ads."

"Completely true." Kozmotis agreed. "I-" he was about to say that he had only gotten the TV to appease his wife, but he was interrupted by an exclamation from Jamie.

"Oi! Soph!" Jamie said. He'd just noticed his little sister's lack of presence and he'd turned around to see her running towards a small shelf at the far end of the room which held some glass knick-knacks. "Be careful!"

Sophie stopped and turned around. "Was just gonna look!" she pouted, sticking her tongue out at her brother.

Jamie quickly walked over to her and picked her up. "Uh uh little miss. This isn't our house, and we have to be polite."

Kozmotis smiled. "Jamie," he said, taking a few steps towards the boy. "It's alright. She can look. They're just some old statuettes I brought from England."

Jamie blinked. "You lived in England?" he asked, surprised.

"Of course!" Kozmotis asked, laughing. "Where do you think I got this funny accent?" Many people had made fun of his slight English accent, including his wife and daughter. He took their teasing good-naturedly and just smiled whenever it same up.

Jamie smiled nervously. "I was wondering about that." he said.

"Funny voice!" Sophie said, clapping her little hands.

Kozmotis smiled. Her blonde hair was still sticking up in random spikes and he bent down to her level, squinting at her. "Is your hair always like that?" he asked.

Sophie reached up and patted her own head. "Hedgehog head." she said, grinning.

Kozmotis laughed. "Indeed." He said, straightening up and looking at Jamie. "What about some breakfast?" he asked. "I have.. ah..." he paused, turning around to give his kitchen the once-over. "As a matter fact I don't know what I have." he said, grinning sheepishly. "Shall we go check?"

Jamie nodded. "Sure. You hungry Soph?" he asked his little sister.

"Yummy! Yummy!" she chirped, clapping her little hands and jumping slightly in his arms.

"I guess that settles that question." Jamie replied, looking back up at Kozmotis and smiling, then his smile faltered a little bit and he said seriously, "Really, if you don't have much we can wait until noon when my mom comes home to eat."

"Oh no, no trouble at all." Kozmotis said, waving Jamie's worry away, though in truth he had no idea if he had anything in his cupboards that a little girl would eat. "I'll go prepare something."

He took the children into his kitchen and routed around in his cupboards for something for them to eat. Luckily for them, he had gone shopping a few days ago and still had some cereal. Apple cinnamon granola, healthy stuff. Not that sugary gunk, full of high-fructose corn syrup that most people bought. Jamie had accepted the bowl of cereal gratefully, but Sophie had stopped him before he could pour the milk into the bowl.

"Sorry," she said politely. "Don't like milk. Sorry."

Kozmotis frowned. "Is she lactose-intolerant?" he asked Jamie, still holding the carton of milk in his left hand.

"No." he said. "She just doesn't like it."

"Sorry." Sophie offered again.

Kozmotis shrugged. At least he hadn't wasted the milk and cereal. He put the items back and asked, "So, if you don't want that, what would you like?"

"Grapes!" she said without hesitation.

Kozmotis glanced at Jamie. "Uh..."

"She has a fruit thing." Jamie explained without looking up. "She loves grapes especially and she always gets at least one a day. If you don't have any," he added. "that's completely OK. We can wait until my mom gets home."

Kozmotis smiled and shook his head. These kids would never cease to surprise him. "Well, I don't have any grapes," he admitted. "but I do have some apples."

"Apples! Apples!" Sophie said, clapping happily.

"An apple will be fine." Jamie said, shooting Sophie a look.

She noticed and relaxed. "Thank you." she said politely.

Kozmotis nodded and pulled out a red delicious apple from an empty fruit basket and handed it to her. She took it and bit into it with relish, juice dribbling down her chin. "Yum!" she declared.

After they'd all eaten- Kozmotis had made himself some toast with butter and and black coffee -Jamie asked if there was somewhere his sister could go play while they figured out what to do about Jack.

Kozmotis said that she could play with some of Seraphina's old toys in her room, just to long as she didn't touch anything she wasn't supposed to, and that she would be safe.

Jamie nodded. "OK. Now Sophie, you listen close." he said, turning his little sister around to face him. Her mouth was smudged slightly and he wiped it with the edge of his sleeve. "I have to go see Jack. I want you to go into that room at the end of the hall and play in there, but don't get into anything that doesn't belong to you. OK? If you need me, call my name."

Sophie nodded. "OK Jamie." she said brightly. "Oh and Jamie, can you tell Jack hi for me?"

Jamie nodded and rubbed her head gently. "Will do little miss." he said, taking her hand and leading her down the hall to the room Kozmotis had pointed out.

Sophie instantly took to the brightly-colored room and ran inside, staring around with wide green eyes. The room was normal-size, with bright purple walls and a green ceiling with stickers and child-drawn scribblings on the walls. Seraphina loved her room and she was sure to be alright with a little girl playing in it for a little while. Sophie picked up a stuffed toy that Seraphina had left on the blue-carpeted floor. It was a purple elephant.

Jamie lingered for a moment to make sure that she was alright, then he turned to the bathroom which Kozmotis had put Jack in and headed into it. Jack was laying in a bathtub filled with ice from the ice maker in Kozmotis's fridge and he could still see the mattress beneath him. It really made Jamie sad to see Jack so still and lifeless. Usually he was excited and always moving. Now, he looked like a corpse. Kozmotis joined him a minute later and they stood in front of the tub, staring down at Jack.

His face was still covered with frost and he was still smiling slightly. It kind of creeped Jamie out, like Jack was going to leap up any moment and scare them, then perch on the rim of the tub, laughing. Jamie smiled. It would be just like Jack. Then his mind wandered to what Jack would do once he woke up. Would be run away, to the Pole straight away? Or would he wait and talk to Kozmotis first? Jamie wasn't sure that Jack would trust Kozmotis, because of him being an adult and looking a lot like Pitch.

_He really does look a lot like Pitch, doesn't he? _Jamie thought, still looking down at Jack. _The same black hair but different style, same profile, but his eyes are definitely different. Green, not gold and silver. Green. _Jamie smiled._ I can imagine Kozmotis and Pitch looking at each other and probably thinking they were looking in a fun house mirror. And then there's his last name. Pitchner. Pitch-ner. That can't be a coincidence._

"Well?" Kozmotis asked, shaking Jamie out of his thoughts.

Jamie blinked, then he looked up. "Well what?" he asked, frowning slightly.

"Well, _what am I going to do?_" Kozmotis asked, staring pointedly at Jamie. "How do I take care of this boy? How long will it be before he can walk on his own? Will I have to keep an eye on his wounds? Will-"

Jamie held up a hand. "Whoa whoa," he said. "I have his memories, but I'm not a magician. Say that again slowly."

"How do I take care of him?" Kozmotis repeated.

Jamie frowned. "Um... I'm not sure he really _needs_ to be taken care of." he said. "I honestly think if you leave him here and keep ice heaped over him, he should be fine."

Kozmotis nodded. "Alright. How long before he wakes up?"

"I think a week." Jamie said, keeping his eyes on Jack's face. "Possibly longer, but not by much."

"And will I have to keep an eye on his wounds?" Kozmotis asked.

"I don't think so." Jamie said, bending down to shift some of the ice and check Jack's wounds. The rib was completely healed and there wasn't even a slash where the rib had punctured the skin. Jamie made sure not to touch Jack's skin as he shifted the ice back and said, "The snow has healed all of his wounds. That is, all the ones I can see. He might have some internal injuries, but I can't tell."

Kozmotis nodded again. "Is there anything else that I might to know?"

"Ah, now we come to the important things." Jamie said, rubbing his hands together to get the chill out of them from touching the ice. "First of all, _don't_ try to move him." he said firmly, staring Kozmotis in the eyes. "If you touch him while he's hibernating, he might freeze you accidentally. He's healing right now, so his body is kind of on autopilot. Power will travel from him into whatever he touches. Just look at the tub."

Kozmotis looked and he saw, with amazement, that there were small tendrils of frost creeping up the sides of the white bathtub.

"Wow." he said, reaching out a hand to trace the pattern but Jamie pushed his hand away.

"What did I say?" Jamie demanded. "Unless you want to end up a Popsicle, don't touch!"

Kozmotis pulled his hand back and nodded. "OK. Not touching."

Jamie nodded firmly and said, "Good. Now, according to Jack's memories if you just leave him here, don't touch him and keep him on ice, he'll be completely fine. When he wakes up he'll probably want to get out into the open air. He might even want to head back to the Pole, so my advice is to let him."

Kozmotis frowned. "Wait, the North Pole?" he asked.

"Yes. That's where North lives and Jack stays there quite a lot. It's in Antarctica, so he loves it." Jamie said.

Kozmotis frowned again. "North?"

"Nicholas St. North." Jamie said. "You know him as Santa Clause."

Kozmotis blinked.

"I know, it's a lot to take in. My advice," Jamie offered. "You're an adult. Don't even try to figure it all out."

Kozmotis nodded and rubbed his forehead. "Gladly." he muttered.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, the Kozmotis raised his head. "What about my wife?" he asked. "And my daughter?"

Jamie frowned. "What about them?"

Kozmotis sighed. "What am I going to tell them?" he demanded. "I can't just say, 'welcome home my dear. How was London? Oh, and I'm afraid we won't be able to take a shower or bath for a while until the _magical winter spirit _I found on the street is done healing!'" He turned to look at Jamie and was surprised to see the boy frowning at him.

"Why not?" Jamie asked.

Kozmotis gave him a dubious look. "Are you crazy, boy?" he demanded. "She would never believe that!"

"No, but Coal would." Jamie said. "She's seen Jack and, if she and you tell your wife that he's there, she should believe her."

Kozmotis shook his head. "No. It won't work. She won't go for it."

"Why not?" Jamie asked again, more forcefully. "You already told her about him, didn't you?"

Kozmotis nodded.

"Well, then just explain that Jack really _is_ Jack Frost." Jamie said. "It shouldn't be hard to prove. With Coal- er, _Seraphina's_ word to back you up, plus Sophie and myself, you should get her to believe."

Kozmotis was about to open his mouth to tell the boy that it would never work, when he frowned and remembered something that Jamie had told him on the way over to his house.

_"He said that he was glad that we believed in him and that we should always believe."_

"Always believe." Kozmotis repeated under his breath. "Jamie," he suddenly said, turning to the boy. "Why can some people not see Jack Frost?"

Jamie jumped at the man's question and fiddled nervously with his fingers. "Um, well..."

"Jamie, this is important." Kozmotis pressed more forcefully. "_Why_ can't some people see him?"

Jamie shrugged and refused to meet Kozmotis's eyes. "Well, I don't know much about it, but I think it has to do with believers. The only people who can see Jack are people who believe in him," he explained. "Mostly kids. I've never heard of an adult believer, actually. It's almost always kids. Thirteen is usually the limit for believers, according to Jack."

Kozmotis blinked. "Wait, so... people don't see him if they don't believe in him?" he asked.

"Correct." Jamie said.

"Then... Why on earth could _I_ see him?" Kozmotis asked, puzzled. "I never believed in Jack Frost."

Jamie nodded. "Yeah, I've been wondering that myself." he said. "And I've come to a conclusion."

Kozmotis looked up. The boy had continued to surprise him in the short time he'd known him, so maybe he would surprise him now and have an idea that he had not. "Well?" Kozmotis prompted.

"I have no idea." Jamie admitted, lowering his head.

Kozmotis rolled his eyes. Or maybe not. "Great." he muttered.

Jamie shrugged. "Hey, I'm a kid!" he said defensively. "If you want to know, go talk to Manny!"

Kozmotis didn't even want to know. "Alright," he said, passing his hand over his face. "Putting that aside. When he does wake up, will he come back if he does go to the-" he winced slightly. "The North Pole?"

Jamie nodded. "Oh he will." he said confidently. "If he forgets to come see you, he'll _definitely_ come see me. And then I'll tell him to go see you, if it makes you feel any better."

Kozmotis nodded. "Alright. That sounds good."

Jamie's eyebrows furrowed and he glanced up at him with a puzzled look. "Um, Kozmotis," he said hesitantly, as if he was afraid of saying the wrong thing.

"Hm?" Kozmotis asked absentmindedly. He was still thinking of what he might tell his wife and daughter. Jamie was right, Seraphina would believe him because she'd already seen Jack Frost, but his wife would be harder to convince. How was he going to do it?

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What?" Maybe he could just forbid her from going into the bathroom. Of course _that_ brought him to the question of what they were going to do when they needed to go to the bathroom. _Oh god,_ he moaned internally. _This is going to be such a pain! _

"Why did you stop to help Jack?"

Kozmotis blinked and pulled out of his thoughts, turning his head to look at Jamie. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well," Jamie said, fidgeting with his fingers. He wasn't sure if he should keep talking, but he wanted to know the answer and so he continued. "I mean, um," he coughed and decided to finally get it over with. He raised his head and stared straight into Kozmotis's eyes. "Why did you help Jack with that Nightmare? I mean, you could've gotten yourself killed. And you didn't even know if he was alive, and you went to so much trouble for him-"

Kozmotis held up a hand. Jamie stopped his babbling. "First of all, what nightmare?" he asked, puzzled.

Jamie blinked. "_Nightm.._. OH!" he said, his eyes suddenly glowing with recognition. "I did say that, didn't I? Oh, well Nightmares- that's with a capital N, are the minions Pitch used to try and take over the world. They are made of Nightmare Sand, sand Pitch stole from the Sandman and corrupted to give children nightmares instead of good dreams. He made them look like real horses, but made of sand and have golden eyes. They smell fear, he said." Jamie shivered. "They freaked me out."

Kozmotis nodded thoughtfully. "I can understand that." he said. They did sound highly creepy.

"Yeah." Jamie said. "I personally never want to see one again. How did you take it down anyway?"

Kozmotis shrugged. "The same way you take down any horse." he replied.

Jamie blinked. "Uh. . ."

"Grab them around the neck and hold on, tire it out and then rap it sharply between the eyes to disorient it." Kozmotis clarified.

Jamie's eyes were wide. "Wow!" he said. "That's cool. Where did you learn that?"

Kozmotis shrugged. "I honestly have no idea."

Jamie nodded and filed that information away for later. "So, back to my question." he said. "Why did you save Jack?"

Kozmotis took a long time answering and when he finally did, it was with a shrug. "I thought he was a human boy." he said. I thought he was a normal human boy and I did what any man would do."

Jamie didn't believe him, but he tried not to show it. "I see. So, you were just trying to help?"

Kozmotis nodded, not quite sure why he was lying to the boy. Maybe it was the sight of that strange little moonbeam, shining down on him when he'd first started walking. He hadn't thought much of it then, but now that innocent little moonbeam that had led him through the twisting streets of Burgess began to take on a whole new meaning. Had it led him to the boy? Had there been some spirit at work, making sure the boy was safe?

Kozmotis remembered the wind picking up the closer he'd gotten to the boy- was the wind at play too? -and then he'd seen that strange, silvery-white spotlight shining down on the boy lying crumpled and in pain in the snow, like a beacon of a flare, calling out to whoever would come save him. Things like that didn't just _happen,_ did they?

_Did they?_ he wondered, staring at the boy in the tub. _Did they **really?**_

XXXXXXXXXXX

About three hours later, during which Jamie gave him a rundown of everything that might happen when he left and Kozmotis was beginning to feel slightly overwhelmed, Jamie got a text on Kozmotis's phone saying that his mother was on her way and Kozmotis offered to drive the children home.

"Oh no, it's OK. Me and Sophie will walk-" Jamie said.

"I won't hear of it." Kozmotis said firmly, putting on his coat and gloves. "It's too cold to walk, and Sophie is five years old. I'm _not_ letting you walk all that way."

Jamie had tried to argue but Kozmotis raised his hand. "I'm driving you and that's that."

Jamie hadn't objected any more- partly because he knew that Kozmotis wouldn't take no for an answer and partly because Jack's influence was making the April weather freezing -and soon they were on the road to Jamie's house. Sophie, now wide awake, had asked to sit in the back seat and, with a stern warning not to wiggle, Jamie had allowed it. Now she was chattering happily about Bunny and saying how happy she was.

Jamie was looking out the window again, but Kozmotis could see a bulge in Jamie's coat pocket that wasn't just his hand. That mysterious object that Jamie refused to show him. Kozmotis was intrigued and he wanted to know what it was, but he knew that the boy guarded whatever it was closely, so he chose to ignore the mysterious object and focus on driving.

Or, at least, he tried to.

Aside from the strange object, other thought thoughts unbidden continued to whirl around his head as he drove. First of all, what _was_ he going to tell his wife?

_Oh dear. This is going to be so difficult. _He thought, gripping the steering wheel. _What will she believe? What will she **say**? What will** I** say?_

"Mr- ah, Kozmotis," Jamie said, shaking Kozmotis out of his thoughts.

Kozmotis resisted the urge to turn and look at the boy. He had to keep his eyes on the road. "Yes Jamie?"

"Are you OK?" the boy asked. Kozmotis saw a worried look on the boy's face out of the corner of his eye.

Kozmotis smiled. "I'm perfectly alright Jamie." he said. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, you seem kind of nervous." Jamie said.

Kozmotis nodded. Jamie was obviously very good at reading emotions because he usually kept his face snapped shut like a book. "And you don't miss a thing, do you Jamie?" Kozmotis asked, smiling thinly.

Jamie shrugged. "Anyway, I was thinking about what you might tell your wife. About Jack, I mean."

Kozmotis sighed and, knowing he didn't have any ideas of his own, he nodded for Jamie to go on.

"Well, what about telling her that he's a normal boy?" Jamie suggested.

Kozmotis nearly slammed on the brakes and turned to stare at Jamie. Nearly. Luckily, he had a good control of his emotions and he kept the car steady. "Excuse me?" he said, gripping the steering wheel firmly.

"Well," Jamie said, oblivious to the man's nervousness. "When she comes back, just tell her that he's a normal kid and, when he wakes up, have him leave before she can ask any questions."

Kozmotis sighed bitterly. "Jamie, didn't we go over this earlier?" he asked tiredly. "First of all, she'll hardly think he's a normal boy when he's laying in the bathtub of my home covered in ice."

"I thought of that!" Jamie said happily. "Just put a blanket over the ice and tell her that he started bleeding and you didn't want any of the beds or couches to get blood on them."

Kozmotis snorted, but in all honesty Jamie's idea was a good one. It explained why he was in the bathtub, but Kozmotis really didn't want to lie to his wife and so he shook his head. "I'm sorry Jamie, thank you for your suggestion, but I'll have to think of something else. I don't want to lie to her."

Jamie shrugged. "Hey, adults lie to us kids all the time, telling us that Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny aren't real. Ha! As if." he said, snorting.

Kozmotis winced. He'd never lied to his daughter about fantastical beings such as Santa Clause. At least, not in the way Jamie described. He had told her that they were real, and apparently they were. So he technically _hadn't_ lied to her.

"That's different." Kozmotis said shortly.

"How?" Jamie asked, puzzled.

"It just is."

"No really, how?"

"You'll know when you're married." Kozmotis replied, smiling.

"Blah!" Jamie said, making a disgusted face. "I'm never gonna get married! Yech!"

Kozmotis chuckled. "Oh Jamie, you'll definitely change your mind in a couple years."

"I will not!" Jamie said stoutly, folding his arms and making another disgusted face.

Kozmotis chuckled again. "Hmm. I'm skeptical." He looked at little Sophie in the mirror. "What about you Sophie? Do you want to be the flower girl at your brother's wedding?"

Sophie clapped her hands and squealed with delight. "Jamie and Pippa! Jamie and Pippa get mawwied!"

Kozmotis raised his eyebrows. "Oh really? Got yourself a girlfriend, eh boy?"

Jamie blushed. "No, I certainly do _not_!" he said firmly.

"Sophie, has Jamie kissed this Pippa yet?" Kozmotis asked, smiling and happy to get off the subject of Jack Frost.

"Nope!" Sophie chirped. Then she leaned towards his seat and whispered in his ear. "Bu' I saw them holding hands last week!" she said, covering the side of her mouth with her hand that Jamie could see.

"Aha!" Kozmotis crowned. "That's a sure sign of marriage to come!"

"How did we get on the subject of my personal life?!" Jamie demanded, blushing furiously.

"Hey, you started it." Kozmotis said, smiling. Then he noticed where they were and pointed with his right hand which was still attached to the wheel. "And here's your house. Is that your mother's car?" he asked, pulling into Jamie's driveway beside a beat-up red Kia Spectra.

"Yep." Jamie said. "Mom's home. Hey Sophie, mom's home!"

Sophie squealed and clapped her hands. "Yay! Mommy!" she said excitedly. The girl obviously liked her mother.

Kozmotis smiled and parked the car beside the Spectra. Then he got out and opened the door for Jamie. Jamie hopped out, then ran around Kozmotis to let Sophie out. She tried to crawl out but slipped, as she was wearing Jamie's thick sweatshirt wrapped around her thin body, and tumbled out of the car, landing on her padded rear end.

"Sophie!" Jamie cried when he saw her fall. He scooped her up, but she was so excited to see her mother that she was half-way to her feet and when he tried to carry her, she raised her arms and slid out of the big sweatshirt, landing nimbly on her little bare feet and not even feeling the cold stones as she ran up to the front door. Jamie sighed and allowed her to slide out, then he turned to Kozmotis and said, "Thank you for everything, Kozmotis." he said, smiling.

Kozmotis shut all the doors, save his own, and stuck out his hand. "The pleasure was all mine, Jamie. Thank you for your help regarding Jack. I promise to tell you when he wakes up."

Jamie took the hand and shook it in the firm way other men shook hands. "That'd be great. Thank you."

"_JA-MEEEEE_!" Sophie called. "Door stuck!"

"She's too small to get the door open." Jamie explained as Kozmotis frowned. Then he turned his back on the tall man and followed his sister to the door. It opened, they walked in and, with one last smile from Jamie and a wave, they closed the door and Kozmotis was left alone on the cold street. He stood there for a few seconds, then he blinked and got back into his car. For some reason, this whole set up didn't seem quite right to him. Jamie's lack of a cell phone- which _anyone_ would give their child when they left for the day and night, for one, and the strange object that Jamie continued to drag around.

What _was_ that thing? He wondered. It was rotund, round, and quite big. That he knew. He hadn't seem more than a glimpse of it, but he knew that whatever it was, it was very special to Jamie. He carried it everywhere and, now that he remembered it, Jamie had even brought that same object with him into the kitchen. He had set it beside him when they'd had that conversation in the bathroom too, but Kozmotis hadn't notice it before now. _Why_ hadn't he noticed it before?

"Because I was too stupid to pay attention." Kozmotis muttered as he gunned the motor. It was true. He hadn't paid attention that much and until now, now that the had actually begun to put some pieces together, he was beginning to see it. Not only had the boy kept the mystery object close to him and hadn't confided in him what it was, but Jamie had seemed a bit too eager to leave when they'd gotten out of the car. True, he had been very polite and true, Kozmotis didn't know much about the boy, but he _did_ know when someone- especially children, were lying and Jamie had _definitely_ been lying about something.

"But what?" he asked himself. "The object? Jack? The whole spirit thing?"

His mind as he drove home was full of unanswered questions and by the time he pulled into the driveway, his fingers were twitching and he couldn't help the single thought that continued to whirl around his mind. _What am I going to do?_

In the end, he didn't have to wonder. The answer came on it's own.

Kozmotis opened the door of his car and, still thinking, closed it and headed up the stone steps to his huge, black house. He was about to pull out his key and unlock his front door, when the door opened from the inside and a familiar short figure with long, black hair came barreling out at him with a happy cry of, "DADDY!"

Kozmotis was so shocked he couldn't move. He just stood there with his little black-haired, green-eyed, fair-faced daughter Seraphina hugging his chest and babbling about how happy she was to see him.

"I missed you so much Daddy! What were you doing? Where did you go?" she asked, pulled away for him and picking up his hands in hers. "Come on! It's cold out here!"

Kozmotis allowed himself to be pulled inside his house. What was Seraphina doing here? It was far too early for her and his wife to be home! Wasn't it?

Apparently not.

"Daddy, why aren't you saying anything?" Seraphina asked. Kozmotis looked down at her. She was wearing child-size jeans and a green T shirt with a sparkly red rose painted on the front. She had a small jacket on over that shirt and she was staring up at him with her father's dark green emerald eyes. Her face was young and the same shade of Caucasian white as his own and her cheeks were flushed with excitement. Kozmotis looked into her eyes and smiled. All his worries just slipped away and he realized just how happy he was to see her.

"I'm just so happy to see you, sweetheart." he said, picking her up and hugging her close. It was so wonderful to see her again! Until now, he didn't realize just how much he missed her. "How was your trip?" he asked.

"Oh, it was great!" Seraphina said happily, throwing her arms around her father's neck. "I bought so many books! I saw so many places! And I missed you so so SO much!"

Kozmotis kissed her on the cheek and let her lay her head against his shoulder. "I missed you too, Seraphina." he said, holding her close. "I missed you too."

They stood there in the hall for a few minutes, just happy to see each other again, then then Kozmotis kissed her forehead and she lifted her head to look at him. She was smiling. "Let's go into the living room." he said, letting her slide out of his arms gently. Her little bare feet hit the floor and she smiled.

"OK. I'm hungry."

Kozmotis winced. "Well, I haven't exactly gone to the store for a while." he said.

"Daddy!" Seraphina reprimanded as they walked into the living room.

Kozmotis shrugged. "I didn't expect you to be back this soon." he said defensively. "I did mean to go shopping before you and your mother got home." The second the words were out of his mouth his eyes widened and he said, "Um, Seraphina, where is your mother?"

"In the bathroom." she said, sitting down on the couch. "It was a really long drive here."

Kozmotis blanched and, without another word, turned around and ran towards the bathroom across from his and his wife's room.

"Daddy, what's wrong?" Seraphina called after him, but he ignored her.

_Hell hell hell!_

The door was coming up fast and just as he was about to open it and run inside, the door opened by itself and his wife- a tall, glamorous woman with gently tanned skin and kind, blue eyes -walked out. Her body was slim and she was fit as an athlete, with strong forearms and calves earned from decades of hiking and walking. She was wearing a pair of black jeans, a violet blouse with all the buttons done up and a tan pea-coat made from leather instead of wool draped over her arm. Her hair was dry, but her face was slightly pink from the cold.

Aside from being a very strong and glamorous woman, Kozmotis's wife was also very wise and educated- which was one of the things he loved most about her. She had a love of humor and an independent streak and a great personality, she was kind and honest and fair, and she was the most beautiful woman he had ever or _would_ ever lay eyes on.

Yet, Sara had a fiery temper when she was angry, as he'd learned the day her father had tried to forbid them from marrying. If something that she believed was unjust was targeted at her, she would retaliate with rage and wouldn't stop until whatever conflict she was in was resolved. Kozmotis loved this about her as well and, in the twelve years they'd been married, he had never been on the receiving end of one of these rages. Yet he had a feeling that this was about to change when he stopped in front of her and gave her an uncertain smile.

_HELL HELL HELL! She's already seen him! She knows! Hell hell hell!_

"Uh... Hello dear?" he offered. _OK, she's not yelling yet._

She smiled and reached out with both arms to hug him. "Hello Koz. Goodness it's good to see you again."

They embraced and, for a split second, Kozmotis forgot about the winter spirit in the room behind his wife. She was here, she was home! He had her in his arms and he pulled back, kissing her lightly on the lips and savoring the familiar taste of her cherry lip gloss.

"Oh Sara," he said, kissing her again and wrapping his arms around her waist tightly. "I missed you so much!" And so saying Kozmotis lifted his wife up off of her feet like a doll and swung her around the room, kissing her once, twice, three times on the lips. He was just so happy to see her!

"Put me down!" his wife demanded, smacking his back. "Koz!"

Kozmotis laughed. She claimed to dislike it when he swung her around, saying it made her feel short, but he just countered with saying that she wasn't short. He was just freakishly tall, and he was. Exactly seven feet. Anyway, he knew she loved it, she just refused to admit it and so he laughed again, swinging her around one more time and then setting her down gently. "Sorry love." he said when he saw her playful glare. "I just missed you so much."

Sara rolled her eyes and pouted. "You know it don't like it." she said.

Kozmotis blinked and gave her the puppy-dog eyes. "Aw come on," he said, letting his hand trail up her back gently. "I'm sorry."

Sara rolled her eyes and a smile stole across her face. "Alright alright, quit with the baby-face." she said, swatting his hand away from her back.

"YAY!" Kozmotis said, sounding like a small child who's been given a particularly good birthday present and hugging his wife. "My wife hath forgiven me!"

"Jeez Koz," Sara teased, pulling away slightly to give him a brilliantly white smile. "Did you get into the dark chocolate again?"

"Oh, come here you!" Kozmotis said, laughing and pulling her close again, kissing the top of her head. Her normal apple-scented shampoo filled his nostrils and he felt so happy to have her back.

"Sorry, sorry." Sara said, kissing his cheek. "It's just been so long since I've teased you. I have a reputation to uphold, you know."

Kozmotis laughed and kissed her once again, this time allowing his lips to linger on hers. One of the other things he loved about his wife, and despaired of sometimes, was her incessant teasing of him. It worked both ways of course. He teased her just as much as she teased him, and they never fought about it.

After a few minutes they broke apart and Sara took his arm, steering him down the hall. "I checked the cupboards in the kitchen, hon." she said as they passed the hall cupboards. "Completely bare, except for that weird cereal you keep buying. Blah!" she made a face.

Kozmotis rolled his eyes. His wife had an affinity for Oatmeal for breakfast and she must've missed it, living in the land of kippers and tea for a week. Poor Sara. "Don't worry, I'll go shopping today. Do you want to come with, Seraphina?" he called down the hall.

Seraphina bolted form her seat, ran into the hall and to her parents, latching on to her father's hand and squealing, "Can I can I can I? Really? _Please_?!" while jumping up and down on the balls of her feet in the normal child-way.

"Of course." Sara said, lacing her arm in her husband's and rubbing her daughter's head with the other. "You and your father go reconnect and I can baby-sit the boy in the bath tub."

Kozmotis froze. _Crap_.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello everyone! Doubtless you have been going crazy from my lack of updates. Well, (Insert dramatic laugh here) worry not! I have been working long and hard on this next chapter and I home you enjoy it!**

**I'd like to thank the one maned Moonlight for her continual contributions to this story in the form of reviews and thank all my other awesome reviewers. Incidentally Guest, I like the longer reviews but not the big gapes. Do you think you could fix that? Thanks a lot.**

**Well, here we go. I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

"What's the matter hon?" his wife asked sweetly, tilting her head up to look at him. "Did you forget something?"

Kozmotis winced. "Um, yeah." he said, wishing he could go hide somewhere. Preferably far, far away. _Hell hell hell!_

His wife smiled. "Well, why don't we go find out what it is and Seraphina can go get a head start on unpacking. Honey," she said, turning to Seraphina. "Your daddy and I are going to go do something. Can you get your suitcase to your room?"

Seraphina smiled. "Yes mom." she said, giving her mother a small hug and her father another, stronger one. Kozmotis smiled. She was definitely a daddy's girl. "Are we really going to go to the store later?" she asked, looking up at him with the big puppy-dog eyes.

Kozmotis glanced at the bathroom behind them. His wife was going to kick his ass when Seraphina was out of the room. He knew it and the only thing he could do about it was beg his wife's forgiveness and hope that she hadn't done anything to Jack.

He glanced back at his family and smiled uncertainly at Seraphina. "Ah, maybe." he said. He couldn't leave Jack with Sara. At least not before explaining to her the full story about Jack Frost. That would just _spell_ disaster.

Seraphina frowned and her little puppy-dog look faded. "But... you said-" she stammered, looking up at him with wide, disappointed eyes.

_Damn. She gets that from her mother._

"Oh, he's just kidding. Aren't ya honey?" Sara interrupted, putting a small amount of pressure on the arm she had laced in hers. Kozmotis felt a yelp bubbling up in his throat but he held it in._ Damn she pinches hard. _Then he smirked. _One of the reasons I married her._

"Yes dear, we'll go." he said, then he shot his wife a look. "We can all go _together_." he said, accenting the _together_ part, just in case she didn't get the message.

Sara smiled sweetly and Seraphina, who had obviously not heard her mother's mentioning of the boy in the tub, ran off down the hall to her room.

The instant she was gone, his wife turned to him and gave him a glare. "Well?" she asked, her eyes boring into his.

Kozmotis gulped. "Ah, well... um..." he stammered. He hadn't known how intense his wife's blue eyes were, but now they looked like twin ovals of melted sapphire.

"What on earth is that boy doing in the bathtub?!" Sara hissed, taking the situation into her own hands. Suddenly she looked much more frightening than that Nightmare horse Jamie had mentioned. She advanced on him and he felt himself shrinking a little bit beneath her gaze. Damn. _When_ had her eyes ever been this fiery? "He could _freeze_ to death! And what was the big idea putting all that _ice_ on him? He could get frostbite!"

Kozmotis's eyes widened and suddenly all the fear drained out of him, replaced by intense worry. "You didn't move the ice, did you?" he asked quickly, taking her by the shoulders and staring into her eyes. "Please tell me you didn't!"

Sara snorted and gave him a look that clearly expressed indignation Not good. "Are you _kidding_? Of _course_ I moved the ice! Are you trying to kill-"

"Sara you idiot!" Kozmotis yelled, anger and worry taking hold of him. He pushed past his wife and ran to the door, which he threw open and when he dud he saw, to his horror, that his wife had put the thickest comforter they had over the boy and all the ice was heaped in the sink, rapidly melting. "Damn!" he swore, pulling off the comforter and throwing it across the room. He checked the boy's temperature. Still cold, but not as cold as he'd been.

Kozmotis stood up and was about to head to the kitchen for more ice, but his path was blocked by his angry wife.

"Kozmotis Pitchner!" his wife said, folding her arms and staring at him with sapphire eyes that nearly glowed with fury. She looked like she was about to spit nails. "Just _what_ do you think you're doing?!"

Kozmotis groaned, anger suddenly replaced by exasperation. He needed to get Jack under some ice, NOW. "Look Sara," he said, putting his hands on her shoulders and looking her straight in the eye. "I promise I'll tell you everything about this as soon as I get more ice for Jack. He needs it!"

Sara stared at him as if he'd gone crazy. "Kozmotis, the boy is as cold as an icicle!" She exploded, shrugging his hands off of her. "He needs to be warmed up and put in a bed!"

"NO!" Kozmotis yelled, making his wife jump slightly. She was staring at him with wide, surprised eyes now. The fire was completely gone, but he could detect fear in them now.

Kozmotis closed his eyes and breathed deeply once, then he opened them again. She didn't know, it wasn't her fault. He loved her and never _ever_ wanted her to be afraid of him.

"No." he said, softer this time, putting his hands back on her shoulders and looking at her earnestly. He had to explain to her now, before it was too late. "Sara, you don't understand. This boy, he's _not_ human. He's a three hundred year old Winter Spirit and he needs ice and snow to survive."

Sara opened her mouth to speak but he raised a hand to stop her. "I know you might not believe me, but it's the truth, swear on the river Styx."

Swearing on the Styx was the one oath both him and Sara would always keep, no matter what it was. They were both fervent believers in keeping your word, and in ancient Greece there was no stronger vow.

"He already almost froze the house," Kozmotis said, looking straight into her eyes. _Please let her believe me!_ "He almost froze the entire_ house_ because I tried to put blankets over him and even though I don't know what would happen if he did overheat, I know it wouldn't be good."

When he finished, he looked at his wife expectantly. She was staring at him intently, looking to see if he was lying.

"I'm not lying, I swear." Kozmotis said. "And I will also swear to tell you all of this that I know, after I get Jack some more ice. He needs it. Please Sara!" he said, glancing quickly back at Jack. Sweat was running down the side of the boy's face and desperation crept into his voice when he turned back to his wife. Her cool eyes were more worrying than her fiery ones. "I have to!"

Finally, after waiting what seemed like an age, Sara stepped aside and he ran quickly to the kitchen. He grabbed the bucket, filled it with ice, then ran back to the bathroom. Sara was still waiting there, staring expectantly at him. Kozmotis moved gently around her, then he knelt by the tub and upended the bucket, sending hard ice cascading down on the boy.

When it hit his body Kozmotis winced, but then he saw the relief it provided him and he moved the ice around to cover Jack's stomach, his legs, his hands and even his face this time, putting three pieces on his forehead. The ice made his face, which had been scrunched up in uncomfortable, relax visibly and the sweat froze in little droplets on his face. Kozmotis wiped it away.

"Come see." he said, beckoning to his wife. Sara didn't move. He laughed. "Honey, he's not going to hurt you." he said gently. "He's in a kind of hibernation right now, and he'll be there for about a week."

_This_ shook her out of her silent musings.

"A WEEK?!" she screeched, bearing down on him like a malignant blue-eyed fiery inferno of anger.

"Calm down, calm down," he said placatingly, raising his palms. Hell hath no fury like a woman forbidden to bathe. "I was thinking about moving him to the guest room so that we could take a shower and go to the bathroom in peace."

"A WEEK?!" she repeated, louder this time.

He sighed. "Honey, It's not like I did this on purpose." he said, standing up and trying to put his arms around his wife. She stepped back and gave him a cold look. He sighed again, this time more exasperatedly. "Hon, really!" he said, stepping forward and forcing a hug on her. She didn't fight much, apart from squirming, but that didn't to any good. His arms, though he'd never once joined a gym, were strong as iron. "I honestly thought this was a dying boy being kicked to death by a wild _horse_! I didn't learn he was magical until a few hours ago!"

Sara gave her own sigh and wrapped her own arms around his back. Honestly, she was taking this much better than he expected. "OK, OK," she said, rubbnig his back with her hand. "This is just... a bit much."

Kozmotis couldn't help laughing. "How hard do you think it was for _me_?" he demanded, bending down to kiss her on the forehead. "I almost ran out of the room screaming when I found out. I thought I was losing my mind!"

She laughed and he kissed her again. "I can imagine that." she teased.

After holding her for a few more minutes, just to be safe and make sure she wasn't going to freak, Kozmotis detached himself from his wife and, after making sure that all Jackhammers exposed skin was covered in ice, he led her into their bedroom across the hall where he sat her down and explained all that had happened since he had found that boy. He left nothing out. He even told her about the shaft of moonlight that had led him to the boy and she'd listened to it all without stopping him once.

When he finally finished, she just stared at him quietly, looking at him with her intense blue eyes.

He coughed and said, not knowing what else to say, "Um, hon?"

She just continued to stare at him.

Kozmotis smirked and, before she could stop him, he stuck the first finger of his left hand in her left ear.

"Koz!" Sara said, leaning away and swatting his hand. He laughed.

"Hey, you spaced out." he said, then he noticed the yellow goo on his finger and he made a face. "EWWWW!" He said, sounding like a fourth-grader.

"HA!" she said, smirking. "That's that you get."

"Ha ha." he deadpanned, wiping his finger on a napkin that was lying on the little table beside their bed.

She smiled and, after he finished wiping his finger, sat down again.

"Well?" he asked, staring at her. She wasn't angry, or confused anymore. In fact, her expression was the normal kind, calm one he always saw on her face. She smiled.

"Well what?" she asked innocently.

He shrugged. "Any questions, comments, opinions, rants about how I'm going insane and how I'm not allowed to see our daughter anymore. . ." he trailed off. She was still smiling.

"Well, you pretty much filled me in on everything." she said, scooting over and taking his hand. "And I don't think your crazy."

He smiled at her. "Well, that's something at least." he said.

"I _do, _however,think that we should call that boy Jamie over again."

Kozmotis blinked. "Jamie? Why?"

"Because I think you're right." she said, giving him the look he'd come to know as the wise-not-so-old-mother look. "I think something is definitely wrong with Jamie's family. And besides, I think that he has a bit more information on this boy that he told you."

Kozmotis nodded thoughtfully. "Well, what do you think it might be? The problem with his family, I mean." He had a pretty shrewd guess. After working with troubled children for so long it kind of became second nature to tell if they were happy or not. And Jamie Bennett, no matter how happy he pretended to be, wasn't happy.

She shrugged. "I don't know." she said. "It might have something to do with his mother. He never mentioned a father?"

Kozmotis shook his head. "No." He'd thought about that. Jamie didn't act like he missed anyone, but it showed in his protectiveness of Sophie. Making her stay with him, teaching her, it as all meaningful.

"Hmm." she said, nodding slowly. "Well, he might be dead, or divorced from his mother. You never saw her?"

"Again, no." He'd thought about that too. Jamie had been awfully quick to leave his car and even more quick to get him out of there. He wondered if that was even his mother's car he'd seen in the driveway.

"Hmm." she said again.

Kozmotis nodded. "Hmm indeed. The boy obviously has trust issues. That's something. He never let Sophie out of his sight and he kept giving me strange looks, like I might hurt him or her." he glanced at his wife. She was smiling. "What?" he demanded.

"You said Sophie kept calling you the Boogerman?" she asked, giving him a teasing smile.

"No, the Boogeyman." Kozmotis corrected. "His name, apparently, is Pitch Black and he's real as the other spirits that Jamie mentioned."

She giggled. "You know, I think you should be that for this Halloween. I can just imagine you in a big black robe and carrying a scythe."

"That's the Grim Reaper, dear." Kozmotis said. "According to Jamie, the Boogeyman had black spiky hair and wears a black robe. How _that's_ scary is beyond me." he added, laughing. "I always acquit robes with nightgowns."

She laughed. "OK, OK, so maybe not. But still, that might be another clue. Maybe that Boogeyman was the one who did this to Jack, and we should find him."

Kozmotis shook his head. "From what Jamie told me, he's a bad guy. I think we should focus on helping Jack get better for now, and then, when he is better, then we'll get our questions answered." he paused. "And speaking of clues, do you have any idea what that object he brought with him in his pocket was? You're good at guessing in twenty questions."

She shrugged. "From your description, it sounds like one of those seeing orbs."

Kozmotis frowned. "Huh?"

"You know, a fortune teller uses then to see the future." his wife said. Then she saw his skeptical expression and she shrugged again. "Hey, your only adjectives to describe it were _round_ and _smaller than a bowling ball_. I'd like to see you do better." she pouted.

Kozmotis smiled, then he apologized to his wife. She was a brilliant woman and he praised her to the heavens for it, then she swatted him on the shoulder, which resulted in a small tussle that ended with some more kissing and a little heavy breathing. I won't bore you with the details.

After that they talked for another few minutes, making sure they got all the facts. Sara repeated everything Kozmotis had told her, to make sure she got it, then they began to talk about what would happen next. Sara suggested- and Kozmotis agreed -that the best way to get Jamie was, after going out and buying some food- during which Sara would keep an eye on Jack, Kozmotis would head to his house and ask if he wanted to spend the weekend. Luckily for them it was a weekend, or Jamie might not have been able to visit.

There was a small discussion on whither to bring Sophie too. Sara voted to bring her, but Kozmotis was skeptical.

"She's five years old Sara." he said, trying to appeal to her rational side. "I cannot, for the life of me, remember what a five-year-old eats."

Sara smiled. "Don't worry, I'll take care of that. When you get to the store I'll text you a list. Besides," she pointed out. "You said yourself that Jamie doesn't like leaving her alone." Kozmotis still wasn't convinced until she added slyly, "And he might be more willing to open up more if she's here."

Kozmotis gave her a deadpan look. "You just want to have a five year old around the house again." he accused, poking her belly.

Sara smiled. "Guilty." she said, shrugging. "But seriously, I think it would help to have Sophie around. We can't just leave his mother to take care of her. She might have a job that demands he pick her up from school or something."

Kozmotis sighed. "Alright, alright." he said. "You win."

They stood and, after another quick kiss, Kozmotis headed to his little girl's room. They had discussed this too. Sara had said that, if she already knew about Jack she might as well know he was there. Sara stayed in the bedroom, saying she wanted to brush her hair and change her clothes and Kozmotis had left her to it.

"Seraphina, dear?" Kozmotis asked gently, knocking on his daughter's bedroom door. It was covered in sparkly designs that made hi think he was opening a portal into fairyland.

"Come in da!" she called from behind the door.

He smiled as he opened the door and was met with the familiar purple and fuzzy decor of his daughter's room. She was sitting on her bed, sorting through books she'd gotten on her trip.

She looked up when he came through the door with a smile on her face. "Hi dad. Are we going to the store now?"

Kozmotis nodded. "Yes dear, but there's something I have to tell you before we go. Several things, actually."

She instantly put down her books and stared expectantly at him. That was one of the things he loved about his little girl. She was patient beyond belief. She could listen to anyone or anything for hours on end and never waver or lose interest, as Kozmotis and his wife had learned when Jeopardy came on one night when Seraphina was seven. She'd fallen asleep on her mother's lap but, when the show had begun she sat up, rubbed the drowsiness from her eyes and answered every single question in one of the categories. The category had been popular children's literature, so it was no wonder she bombed it.

"Well," he said, coughing and clearing his throat. "You know how I talked to you on the phone about Jack Frost the other day?"

She nodded. "Uh huh." So far so good.

"Well, through a long and difficult series of circumstances- you know what those words mean, right honey?" she nodded. "Right. Well, through a long and difficult series of circumstances I- that is to say, someone. . ."

she was giving him a weird look now, as if she'd never heard him stutter before.

Hell. He was just going to have to come right out and say it. He took a deep breath. "I found him. Jack Frost, I mean. He was hurt and I had to bring him back here." he waited.

At first, Seraphina didn't seem to understand him. She frowned, as if the words hadn't filtered into her brain or, if they had, she hadn't understood. He was about to open his mouth to explain more, but before he could stop her Seraphina's eyes lit up like a candle and a wide smile split her face. Before he could do anything she shot off of her bed and ran out of her room, laughing and squealing with delight.

She ran so fast that, for a second, he didn't register she was gone. Then, after blinking once, his eyes widened and he bolted for the bathroom, flinging open her door and running after her. "Seraphina!" he called, almost ramming his face into the door frame in his haste. "Wait, honey!" If she took the ice off now, just after he had finished putting it back on-

He managed to get to the bathroom without slipping and falling on his behind, but he was too late, she wad already there, staring with wide, scared eyes at the boy in the tub.

"Seraphina, honey," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. At his touch she whirled around and fixed him with an innocent and afraid look.

"Is he gonna die, daddy?" she asked in a quiet voice, staring up at him with those startling green eyes.

Kozmotis almost laughed, but that would be an inappropriate response to such a question. Instead he bent down and looked her squarely in the eye, just like he had with his wife. "No dear," he said gently. "He's not going to die. He's a spirit, remember? All he needs is some ice and a few more days rest. Then he'll be up and spreading snow and fun everywhere in no time."

She smiled, looking relieved. "Oh, good." she said. She didn't question his claims. They were claims made by her father, and that was good enough for her.

"Listen honey," he said, putting his other hand on her shoulder. "I'm going to take you to the store, mommy's going to watch over Jack, but after we need to stop and Jamie Benett's house. He's going to be staying with us for a while, OK? Just until Jack gets better. He knows him the best, so your mom and I thought that he should be here, in case something happens. We're bringing Sophie too, his little sister. I know Sophie's a littler girl, but you can still play with her."

Her eyes lit up. "Jamie and Sophie?" she asked, clasping her little hands together and jumping up and down on the balls of her feet with excitement. "Yay! Can they stay in my room?"

"No." Kozmotis said quickly. Then he thought better of it. "At least, Jamie can't." he added.

"Why?" she pouted.

Kozmotis inwardly smiled. Not that he would ever imagine Jamie doing anything to her, but still. "There's not enough room." he lied. "And besides, Jamie might want Sophie to stick by him. He's her big brother, and he has to keep her safe."

She pouted some more. "I want a big brother." she said, latching onto his arm with her hand and tugging in the incessant way little girls do. "Can we get one, please dad?"

Kozmotis coughed. "Uh, I think it's a little late for that dear." he said sheepishly, blush creeping into his cheeks. _How_ did he always get onto these tricky topics with little kids?! Marriage, kids, next thing you know he'd be teaching Sophie what the _three letter word_ meant! "Maybe you can get a younger sister, maybe."

"Yay!" she said again, smiling. Her little green eyes were alight with joy.

"But not for a while." he added hastily. Oh dear, if his father could see him now he'd be laughing his ass off.

When Kozmotis was a little boy he'd begged for a sibling, going so far as to save up ten dollars to 'buy' one, but he'd ended up an only child and quite miffed about it. His father had roared with laughter when he'd presented the ten dollars proudly to his mother and said that that should cover it. His mother had laughed too, calling him an adorable little boy. Only several long years later did Kozmotis learn how silly he'd acted.

Kozmotis smiled to hide the slight pain that had crept into his mind. He missed his mother and father dreadfully sometimes.

He coughed. _No, none of that now. _He told himself. _You have work to do Kozmotis Pitchner! Work! You need to find Jamie, go get food, and no doubt many other things before the day is done._

"Um, Seraphina," he said hesitantly. "I think we should leave Jack now. He's got a lot of healing to catch up on."

She pouted. "I wanna stay with Jack." she said, folding her arms and staying put.

Kozmotis faked a look of indignation "I'm your father!" he said, trying not to smile and instead affecting a disapproving bushy-eyebrowed look. "I haven't seen you for a _week_ and you'd rather sit by an old tub with a boy who can't even talk back to you, rather than go with _me_?"

She giggled. "Well, I guess not." she said, looking back over her shoulder at Jack. "Are you sure he'll be alright daddy?" her expression, normally so carefree, was somber.

Kozmotis turned around himself to look at the boy in the tub. His face was completely covered in ice and he could only see the boy's white hair flopped over his eyes. He looked so peaceful.

"Yes dear," he said, putting his arms around her and picking her up gently. He held her closely, just like he used to do when she was a baby with her legs tucked around his torso and her little arms around his neck. "I think he will be.

XXXXXXXXXX

Nick St. North was working in his private room when the first yeti had come in. He'd just finished making an exquisite replica of a Basilica in Venice- he wasn't sure which, but he had been bored and unable to think of a new design for a toy, so he'd just started fiddling with it and soon the Basilica had come into being. He was using the smallest pick in his toolkit to carve intricate indentations in the spire that rose up from the roof of the Basilica, just like on the original, when he heard a calm knock on the door.

Thankful that he hadn't broken anything, North set the small pick that was fashioned from gold and had a diamond on the tip for fine-grade designing and turned to the door. "Da, come in." he said. It was probably Jack, asking for something to do. This had been happening a lot in the last few months, but North wasn't worried about it. Jack did this every year right before summer, getting nervous and antsy until North had to lock him in his room for a day.

After that, he stayed in the pole until winter came again, amusing himself with freezing elfs and playing golf with them or messing with the PA system that North had installed to check on the yetis. Making the voices sounds like aliens or monsters, changing the pitches or making them sound female when the person talking was a man. It as highly amusing and sometimes one of the other Guardians joined him in this prank. Mostly Bunny. After those two had reconciled for the Easter incident and the blizzard of sixty-eight, they had become thick as thieves.

But it was not Jack who opened the door and stepped inside. It was a yeti!

"Phil?" North asked, surprised. "Vhat do you want?" Normally visits from Phil were met with happiness and the emotions of seeing a long-lost brother, but this time North detected something not quite right in the big furry being. He felt it, in his belly!

Phil stared down at his feet, and quite large feet they were too. Size thirty in any man's shoe store. His hands were laced and he was wringing them with alarming intensity. North's frown deepened and Phil mumbled something that even North couldn't make out, even though he was proficient in Yetish.

"Speak up Phil," North said, standing and striding over to his old friend to put a gentle hand on his shoulder. Despite his size, Phil was a rather subdued Yeti. HE didn't share confidant information with others well.

"I'm worried about something, Nick." Phil confessed, still wringing his hands and using the nick-name- (he he, NICK-name, get it?) he had given North a long time ago. Everyone else called him North or Santa Clause, but Phil was North's oldest friend and as such, was privileged to do things like that when it came to the jolly Russian man.

North nodded patiently. "Sit. Tell." he ordered, steering Phil to a chair and pulling it up towards his own. Both men- OK, I know Phil isn't exactly a man but for ease of use, let's just go with it OK? -sat and North fixed Phil with his best friend look.

"Well," Phil said slowly, still not meeting the man's eyes. "It's like this North. . ." he paused again and, taking a deep breath, raised his head. He looked extremely worried. "Jack's not here."

North had to admit, he was slightly surprised. Phil had liked the boy from the start and, now that North had officially adopted him, Jack was like a younger cousin or brother to him. "So?" he asked, leaning back down in his chair and giving Phil a smile. "Jack is free spirit. Ve never know vhen he is to be here or not." he illustrated by waving his hands dramatically. "He comes and goes like the wind, dere one minute and gone the next!"

Phil didn't laugh. "Nick," he said, staring at his friend with calm, and very worried eyes. "You said you were going to call the Guardians tonight to have a celebratory dinner."

North blinked. "I did?" he asked, puzzled. His big bushy salt-and-pepper eyebrows met together in the middle of his forehead to form one long line above his eyes.

"Yes. To mark the third year of Jack's Guardianship." Phil said, still somber.

North frowned again, then he clapped his huge hands like an excited child and his face lit up with recognition. "AH! Yes, now I remember. Vhat time is it? I must begin making preparations."

Phil finally broke through his worried mood to smile at that. His lips tilted up and his long mustache raised a few inches. North was the kindest man on earth and certainly the most generous and jolly, but he was also the most forgetful. "North, you set us making preparations a week ago." he said gently. "The female yetis have been cooking all day."

North's face split into a wide smile. "Da. Phil, vhat vould I ever do without you?" he said, standing up again and reaching to give his old friend a hug. Phil was the oldest Yeti in the Pole and he was the proud father of many of the younger yetis. He was North's best friend and companion when the stress of being a Guardian got too much for him. When that happened, Phil sat North down and made him a strong cup of cocoa with a tiny bit of Vodka in it to make him feel like a real Russian again. After that North was usually fine.

"You would be back to the old Vodka and coffee days, Nick." Phil said, smiling. "And Moon help the poor kids you send _those_ toys to!"

"Hey, de potato Gatling gun was huge success!" North objected. It had indeed been a huge success. Children seemed to love toys that could shoot, especially toys that shot big projectiles and were big and shiny. Plus the added bonus of being able to hit anything with it as speeds of over a three hundred miles an hour.

Phil snorted, then he returned to the matter at hand. Jack. "You specifically asked Jack to come early so that you could give him some new clothes for the occasion." he began but before he could continue North jumped up and clapped his hands like, well, a child at Christmas. His eyes were alight with joy and Phil frowned, momentarily distracted. "What?" he asked.

North didn't answer and instead ran over to the big wooden oak wardrobe he had on the far side of his workroom. In there he kept his dragon-hide gloves and boots, leather apron with a thousand little pockets for storing stuff, his vast collection of eyepieces and picks, all wrapped up in a leather case with a slot for everything, bullet-proof safety goggles and extra strong Czar Nick's peppermints. You know, all the essential workroom items.

"Yes, I asked female yetis to work on dis too. Dey just finished." he said excitedly, opening the wardrobe and pulled out a sky-blue suite with a white dress shirt and tie hanging around the hanger, covered in protective plastic wrapping. It was carefully tailored to fit a boy of Jack's exact size and dimensions. The tie was even hand-made with a single beautifully stitched snowflake in the center and a lighter pattern of flakes behind it as the print of the material.

Phil stared. This was an amazing work of skill on the part of the female yetis. Not a stitch was out of place. Not a single stitch! The material was perfect and, despite being hung in a wardrobe it looked unwrinkled.

"Ah, but the best it yet to come!" North said happily, draping the suite over the back of his chair and turning to dig around in the wardrobe again. Five minutes later he came out with a pair of blue snow-flake patterned shoes with tiny silver bells attached to the comically curled tips and white trimming around the ankle.

Phil busted up laughing. Great spasms of laughter shook the furry being's body and North, not knowing why his old friend would suddenly erupt into a fit of giggles at the sight of these rather becoming shoes, frowned. "Vhat?" he asked, looking at the shoes and then back at Phil in puzzlement. Phil, meanwhile was shaking from mirth and had to brace himself against the wall to stop from falling over.

"Nick, my friend," Phil said in between giggles. "You might want to- he he, burn those things."

North looked horrified. "_Burn_ dem?!" he gasped, clutching the shoes to his chest. "Vhy vould I do dat? Dese are very stately shoes Phil, and dey cost a fortune to make!"

Phil's laughter nearly doubled in volume. "You mean you actually _payed_ for those?!" he demanded, trying to suppress the mirth.

"I did indeed." North said with great dignity. "Finest Martin fur lining inside, silk imported from Asia for outside and bells were fashioned from pure silver. These shoes are worth more than I care to think about." he admitted with a guilty grin.

Phil had stopped laughing now.

"Wait, wait," he said, raising his to furry palms. "You mean this, _THIS_ is what ate up the imported items budget?!" All mirth was gone from Phil's face and he glared at Santa Clause.

Several months ago, North had come to Phil and said that they were exceeding the budget he had set down that had to be imported from outside the continent for items they needed to make the toys. Phil had been puzzled. Usually they never exceeded that budget because he was a good manager of money that it took to run the Pole. Buying wood to keep the fires going which kept them all- North included, from freezing, cooking ingredients to feed the five thousand male, female and younger Yetis that ran around the Pole, and especially toy-making materials.

North had figured out long ago that he was bad with money, owing to a very bad mix-up with a Korean glass-importer in his early years, and so he had handed that aspect of Christmas over to Phil. Phil had accepted the job dutifully and before long, he had trade links established with all the best wood, cloth and glass merchants. That had been several thousand years ago. Now, since the invention of plastic and commercial ceramic, Phil had had to up his game and now he held shipping contracts with China, America and of course Japan.

Phil received a huge shipments of materials to make the toys every month and, using the computer in North's Library, sent whoever was sending the merchandise the proper amount due to them. Oddly enough, North had an immense bank account that seemed virtually unending. North claimed it was the huge reservoir of wealth he'd accumulated as a bandit in his younger years, but Phil had his suspicions. These suspicions were confirmed when he discovered a bookmark on North's computer that was linked to Ebay and he found, to his amusement and vast irritation, that someone named "FthrXmas224" had been selling vast amounts of "Bigfoot" pictures.

When confronted with this, North claimed to not know anything about it. Phil was still suspicious.

In fact, he was using the same innocent face that Phil had seen him use when he'd interrogated him about the "Bigfoot" pictures as he was now!

"Uh," North said, rubbing the back of his head. "OK yes, it is."

Phil gave him a disparaging look. "Oh Nick, will you _ever_ learn?" he asked exasperatedly, shaking his head at his old friend's foolishness. For one, Jack wouldn't wear shoes if his life depended on it. For another, no one in their right mind would ever put those shoes on. Jack would look like a jester at a wedding!

"Hey, give me break!" North said, a little peeved. "I vent through lot of trouble to get these."

"Useless, useless trouble." Phil said, still shaking his head. "North, the boy won't wear them! He'd look ridiculous! Like some wizard from the Septimus Heap books!"

North frowned. "De vhat?"

Phil waved his hand. "Never mind. My point being, he'd rather walk through molten lava than wear those, so I hope you kept the receipts, for _your_ sake!"

North hung his head. "I know, I know." he said, looking shame-faced. Then he looked up with a frown on his face. "So, Phil, what was it you were saying about Jack?"

Phil frowned, then he remembered. His jovial mood turned a tad darker. "You wanted Jack here early, but I haven't been able to find the boy." he said earnestly. "I checked around the Pole, _everywhere_ around the Pole in fact, but I can't find him."

North wasn't unduly worried about this. "As I said before, Jack is free spirit. He's probably spending time with Jamie before summer starts. You know how much he cares about the boy."

"Yes, but I checked Jamie's house with the globe. Jack's not there. He's in the immediate vicinity, but I can't pinpoint him. He's being cloaked by another very powerful light, but I can't identify the light." Phil said. He sounded more worried now. Very worried, and now North was beginning to get nervous.

"Well, take Snow globe and go see." North suggested. "If Jack is well, bring him back here. If not, bring persons responsible for hurting him and bring Jack back here. I will handle it from there."

Phil's shoulders slumped. "Nick, the house belongs to a human man and woman. Maybe they just found him after one of this beginning-of-summer episodes and are trying to help him. I don't think a huge yeti in their house will help."

"Very well," North conceded. "You may be right."

Phil snorted. "Of course I'm right." he said. "I would only freak them out. I may be your friend North, but no other humans know for sure that I or any others of my tribe exist. Not only that, but they can't speak my language."

North nodded and began to stroke his ample beard. Phil knew that he was thinking now and he didn't interrupt.

After several minutes, north looked up at him again and his eyes were serious. "Phil, I want you to go to Jamie's house and ask him if he knows anything about Jack and these people who have him in their house. Report back to me in less than five hours, alright?"

Phil nodded. Jamie could understand the barest surface of Yetish, but Phil could make himself understood if he needed to. Jamie also knew that Jack frequently was tired in the months leading up to summer. That was why North had taken to putting bars on Jack's windows in the summertime, to make sure he didn't wander and then fall asleep in the wrong place. "Will do boss." he said, standing up and heading out of the workroom.

North watched him go, sadness etched into his face for the first time in three years. He was worried about Jack just as much as Phil was and he felt guilty that he hadn't kept a closer eye on the boy.

"Toothy is going to kill me for not watching him." he muttered, staring after the yetis and he shut the door, then he turned to the still-open wardrobe where Jack's suite hung limply, the shoes peeking out from beneath the pants cuffs. North smiled, but it was a forced one. Then he sighed and turned back to his desk where the model of the Basilica stood. Outside, snow was beginning to fall.

"He will be alright, North assured himself as he began to work with another piece of ice. "I trust Phil. He'll get Jack back safely."

Several thousand miles away, Jamie Bennett locked the door slowly behind him. His mittened hands fumbling for a second, but finally he got the key to turn and he slipped it back into his pocket. He turned around, grabbed his sister's hand gently who had been waiting patiently beside him.

"We go?" she asked. Her body was covered in protective warm gear to keep her alive for the walk ahead. three Sweaters, mittens, boots and a floppy bunny rabbit hat. Jamie was wearing the same kind of ensemble, minus the hat. He was wearing a dignified black beanie over his brown hair and he had a pair of black gloves covering his hands. A Black scarf was draped around his neck and a black pea-coat he found in the hall closed that was as good as a duster for him buttoned up around his neck. He looked much older than his eleven years.

"Yes, we go." Jamie said, holding her firmly by the hand and beginning to walk off into the night. Sophie skipped beside him, kicking snow and laughing. Jamie kicked a little snow, but his mind was too preoccupied to laugh.

The first and most important thing on his mind was, of course, Jack. Would he be OK? Would he go back to the Pole immediately or stay and thank his savior? Would he be mad at Jamie for seeing his memories, including the ones that weren't so nice? Would he not want to be friends again? There were so many possibilities. Jamie didn't want to think about a life without contact from the Guardians or Jack, but it was a realistic possibility and he had to face that.

The second thing on his mind was the man, Kozmotis Pitchner.

"Who is he?" Jamie asked himself too quietly for his skipping sister to hear. "He's the only adult ever to see a spirit that I know of, he believed me and he wants to help Jack," he paused. "But he looks so much like Pitch. He acts like him too. Why? Did something happen to Pitch?"

"Jamie," Sophie said, tugging on his arm. "We here."

Jamie looked up. While he'd been muttering and thinking aloud, Sophie and him had arrived at their destination. It wasn't that far from his house thank goodness, but he must've walked faster because he was thinking.

"Oh, thanks Soph." he said, "I spaced out a little." He smiled and her and they walked up to the door. "You remember the drill?"

"Yep." Sophie said, brushing all but a little snow from her hat, shoulders and the rest of her body. "I be quiet until we leave, no talking to strangers and stay by you."

Jamie nodded. It was the same drill he'd practiced with her for three years and she knew better than to disobey. Not that he would punish her for it, even if she did. No, he would have a long talk kith her about why it wasn't good to break the rules he'd given her and, by the end of it, she would promise never to do it again. That had only happened twice in the last three years.

Jamie brushed the majority of the snow off of his body and then opened the glass door. The bell above it tinkled and the middle-aged man behind the counter looked up. "Hey Jamie, hey Sophie." he said, putting down the display of candy bars he was setting up beside the cash register. "You're mom and dad in the car outside?"

Jamie nodded. "Yep Dean." he said, smiling broadly. "They sent us in to get the usual. Mom's so cold she says her toes are freezing."

"Yes, it is rather chilly for late June." Dean admitted. "Well, at least you two are dressed for the weather. I saw a little girl and her father come in a few minutes ago. The man was wearing a shirt thin as paper and only the little girl was sensibly dressed in a little green coat. Cute as a button she was, but not as cute as your sister." Dean smiled and waved at Sophie. "She still not talking?" he asked the boy.

Jamie nodded, forcing his face to look downcast. "No. We think she might be mute, except for that she cried enough when she was a baby."

Dean shrugged. "Well, maybe she's just shy. That's nothing to be ashamed of."

Jamie nodded and said gently, "Come on Soph." to the man behind the counter he said, "Thanks for your concern, but mom and dad are waiting."

Dean nodded. "Alright alright, you get what you need and hurry back to that comfy cozy car. Your nose is already looking pink."

Jamie smiled goodnaturedly and turned to walk down the nearest aisle. It was the same thing, time after time. Milk, eggs, butter, fruit, bread, ten boxes of macaroni and cheese- the kind you mix the milk in with the powder yourself, and a small package of cookies if Sophie was a good girl.

After Jamie got the food- he decided on green grapes this time instead of red because green was cheaper -and hauled it back to the counter, Dean rang him up for all of it and said, "Forty-three fifty."

Jamie handed over five ten dollar bills and routed around for some change in his pocket.

"No matter kid, I'll just give you the change." Dean said, still smiling. "And how about a lollypop for your sister? On the house."

Sophie opened her mouth to say thank you, but then she realized she wasn't supposed to speak and she nodded, smiling.

"Thank you." Jamie said for her. "She likes strawberry."

"Strawberry it is." Dean said, hanging the treat to Sophie. She nodded her thanks and put it in her pocket. Jamie never let her have sweets until after dinner, which their brown paper bags contained. Jamie picked up one, weighed it, and turned to Sophie.

"You think you can carry this Soph?" he asked her.

She nodded.

"Why make her do it?" Dean asked, puzzled. "It's just a little way to your car."

"It makes her feel important," Jamie said quietly as he handed the lighter of the to bags to his sister. She carried it easily in both hands. "If she brings it to them, it makes her feel happy and like she accomplished something."

Dean nodded knowingly and smiled at her. "Ah, I see. Well, enjoy!" he said, waving again.

Jamie nodded and took the bigger bag, then he headed for the door. Sophie followed dutifully.

"Oh, hang on a minute Jamie!" Dean called after him.

"Yes?" Jamie asked, forcing himself to keep calm and not bolt. He turned around and saw that Dean had come out from behind the counter.

"You know the man I was telling you about, the one with the girl?" Dean asked.

Jamie nodded.

"Well, I think I heard him mention your name."

Jamie forced his eyes to remain stable. "Oh. Well, it was probably one of my school friends." he said offhandedly. "Now we really need to be-"

"And he said something about going to visit you," Dean added. "Did you perhaps have a play-date today that you forgot about?"

Jamie's heart raced. The man could only be Kozmotis Pitchner. The girl was probably Coal, she and her mother could be back by now, and in a fit of random thoughts Jamie wondered what Kozmotis had told her. Had he explained the truth, or told her a lie? What was Coal doing with him and was Mrs. Pitchner alone with Jack?

"Uh," he said, forcing his brain back to the problem at hand. "Yes, I think I did." Jamie turned to look at the sky outside quickly. It was darkening. "Well, I think we should go get there before they do. We wouldn't want them to worry."

Dena nodded and retreated back behind the counter. "Good luck kids!" he said, still smiling.

Jamie- though his brain was reeling with these new facts, he forced himself to calmly wave, then walk to the door. He opened it for Sophie and she stepped out first. Then he followed, heading for the 'car'. Once he was sure Dean wasn't looking, he turned and, motioning for her to follow, ran in the opposite direction towards their house.

"Jamie!" Sophie cried. "What's wrong?"

"I'll tell you when we get home, munchkin." Jamie panted, knowing he had to keep her close to him and make sure she wouldn't fall. "Right now, we need to get home as soon as possible. I know it's making you tired, but we've got to hurry."

Sophie continued to run, her little legs easily carrying her quickly over the cement street and she hopped over all the icy parts with ease.

When they finally got home, Jamie was panting and Sophie almost dropped the small bag she was carrying. As they ran up their driveway and to the porch, Jamie noticed a big black car in the spot where the kia spectra used to sit. They were already here! Jamie ran to the car and looked in. No one was there. That meant that they were either inside, or somewhere else.

Jamie looked back at Sophie. He knew she had to get inside. She was tired, hungry, and he needed to get her warmed up so he said mentally to hell with it and ran up the steps. Had he'd expected, the door was open. Kozmotis must've picked the lock.

"Come on Soph." he said, beckoning her into the house as he pushed the door inwardly open.

Now, as anyone knows, it is not safe to enter a house which had it's door open. You don't know what's inside and you have no way to protect yourself if there was something dangerous there. But, in light of the car in his driveway and the open door, he thought he knew just who was inside. Then again, burglars might've broken in and Kozmotis might be out unconscious on the floor.

Sophie obediently walked in and set her burden down on the counted of the kitchen which looked into the hall. Jamie did the same, then he bent down to her and whispered urgently, "Soph, I need you to go hide, OK? There are people here and I don't know if they are good or bad. Just hide, OK? Like our game." Jamie had trained Sophie at the age of four to hide in the smallest space she could fit into and stay there for long periods of time, in case something like this ever happened.

Sophie nodded and, without another world, ran to the hall closet where they kept the towels for the bathroom. She took three of the towels out, climbed in, and pulled the towels in behind her. She closed the door just enough so that she could breathe well. Jamie nodded and, picking up the telephone and a heavy vase from the kitchen table that was empty, silently crept down the hall.

He heard nothing for a few feet. Then an unfamiliar sound emanated from beneath his very feet and Jamie jumped. _The basement! There's someone in the basement!_ He clutched his vase tightly, afraid for the first time in a long while. He'd never dealt with anything like this before and he worried him. Would Sophie be safe? Would she know what to do? He's practiced with her enough, so she should know that if he didn't go get her, she should stay in there until she didn't hear any noise and then find a phone to call 911. Hopefully she would be alright, even if he was knocked out. At least she would be safe.

He made his way silently down the rest of the hall and headed for the door to the basement, which was beside the bathroom and it lead to a flight of stairs going down. The furnace was there, along with the water heater and his dad's old tools.

_And so, apparently, are either Kozmotis and his daughter or burglars._ He thought, then he shook his head. He couldn't deal with that now. He needed to find out who was here and who was making those weird noises.

He found the door and turned the knob, ready to brain anyone guarding it with the vase. Turned out, he didn't have to. There was nothing blocking the door and it swung freely and evenly, making not a sound. Jamie crept down the stairs, still holding the vase on one hand and the phone in the other in case he needed to call for help. There was a light on, and by it's feeble flickering he could see Kozmotis standing over a big bound figure, with Coal up against the wall.

Jamie took another three steps down he stairs, wondering if this big man lying bound on the floor was a burglar. He certainly seemed strong enough to carry a TV out of the house. He was lying on his back and, from what Jamie could see needed a shave badly.

Kozmotis spoke. "I wonder how it got here." he said. "That thing couldn't have picked a lock and there weren't any broken windows."

"Where are Jamie and Sophie?" Coal asked the bound figure.

The figure let out a groan and then said something in a deep, guttural language. A language that Jamie knew.

The vase dropped from his fingers and smashed against the wood, sending shards everywhere. Kozmotis jumped and moved to protect his daughter, then he saw who it was standing in the middle of the staircase. "Jamie!" He said, relief evident in his voiced. "What are you doing? Where were you?"

Jamie just continued to stare at the furry figure staring up at him from the floor.

_"Phil?!" _


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi everybody! here I am! **

**OK, first of all, I'm kind of disappointed at the lack of reviews. Chapter six gets a butt-ton and seven only gets two?! WHAT'S UP WITH THAT?!**

***Sigh* Well, I guess I can't complain. Though I really wish you guys would tell me what you think of this one and if it's good or not. I hope you enjoy the next chapter. It's fun.**

* * *

Kozmotis had not anticipated the rapid change in the weather and he hadn't planned for it. He and his daughter had just left the house and gotten into the car when a fierce wind began to blow and snow whirled over the windshield.

"Damn!" He swore, getting out again and using the scraper to scrape the snow off all the windows. Seraphina, however, had planed for it to be cold and had brought along a thick green coat which she burrowed into in the back seat happily. "Momma told you to get a coat dad!" she said triumphantly as her father slid into the front seat.

"Yes yes, I know. Mommy's the genius of the family and daddy's just the one who saves dying inter children." Kozmotis said as he put the car into reverse, meaning it as a joke but realizing that it had not sounded like one to his little girl. "Oh Seraphina, I didn't mean that." he said, quickly shutting off the car and turning around in his seat to pat her head comfortingly. The horrified expression that had been on her face quickly melted away.

"It's OK dad, I know you didn't." she said, smiling at her father. "He won't die. You told me that he wouldn't and I believe you."

Kozmotis smiled. "Yes, and daddy's always right." he said, tweaking her nose and then turning back to the steering wheel. He pushed the gear shifter and backed out of their driveway in the beautiful black Cadillac Sudan his wife had given him for their fifth anniversary. He'd given her a ten set copy of the Chronicles of Oz by Frank L Baum. The book seemed piteous in comparison, but she said she loved them more than any other present she'd ever gotten, and Kozmotis had certainly loved the black caddy the same way.

First they stopped off at a little grocery store not far from the house. Kozmotis had about fifty dollars in his pocket, so he bought two packages of spaghetti, a jar of sauce and some burger meat. Seraphina protested when she saw the jar of sauce, as she liked her mother's homemade sauce with real tomato and parsley, but Kozmotis told her that they would have that next week and she grudgingly agreed, on the condition that he buy her an apple to eat in the car because she was hungry.

"Little lawyer." Kozmotis teased, ruffling her hair. "You're going to grow up just like your mother."

"I'm glad about that!" she said, laughing. "Can it be a red delicious?"

He agreed and the red delicious apple was added to the basket, along with a small piece of Parmesan cheese and a box of oatmeal that was for his wife for in the morning, when he would go to the store for real and get supplies for the week to come. He got a quart of milk and some cream for his wife's coffee, then he made his way to the counter.

"Dad, can we get ice cream?" Seraphina asked, pointing to the pint containers of french vanilla on a small freezer to the left of the counter.

"No dear, we have to go to Jamie's right after this and it would melt if we left it in the car for too long." Kozmotis said, handing over the five tens to the man behind the counter when he asked for forty-nine sixty.

"Unusually cold night for April, isn't it Dean?" he asked as the man handed him back the change and started to bag the food up.

"It is indeed sir." Dead said. Kozmotis could tell he didn't recognize him, and that was alright. Even though he was kind of a celebrity for his services to the youths, he liked to keep a low profile.

Well, as low as you can be at seven feet tall in your bare feet.

"You don't look like you're dressed for the weather sir." Dean said, looking up from the bag he was stuffing and noticing his thin shirt.

"Mom told him to bring a coat," Seraphina piped up. "but he didn't listen and he didn't want to go back in to get one because then mom would've told him she told him so!"

Kozmotis ruffled her hair and said, "Alright you little tattle-tale." but he said it lovingly.

"Your daughter seems to be dressed for that abominable weather," Dean said as he handed the bags to Kozmotis. "If you don't mind me saying, she looks cute as a button."

Kozmotis beamed. His daughter was indeed the thing he loved most in the world, and he felt proud when people gave her compliments like that. "She is indeed." he said, smiling. "Thank you."

"Come again sir!" Dean called after them when they headed out the door. Sera insisted she carry one of the bags, so he had given her the lightest and allowed her to put it in the trunk herself, then she followed him to the front of the car and slid into her seat again.

"Alright, off to Jamie's." Kozmotis said, smiling.

"Off to Jamie's!" Sera repeated, smiling.

The drive there wasn't long. Kozmotis thought he saw a pair of shapes walking down the street once, but he drove past too quickly to make out for certain and he dismissed it at his imagination. After learning about the spirits of the world which were supposed to be not real, but _were_, he was understandably jumpy.

He pulled into the driveway, anticipating having to park the car in the middle of the driveway but surprised when he saw that the blue Kia Spectra that he had assumed was Jamie's mother's wasn't in the driveway. He frowned. Had she gone out for something? Did that mean the children were along, _again_?

"Dad, there are no lights." Seraphina said, pointing.

Kozmotis looked. She was right. Not a light in the place. That was odd. It wasn't even six yet. Why would they be gone? Had their mother taken them out to eat to make up for being gone so long or something like that?

"Should we go home?" Seraphina asked quietly.

Kozmotis shook his head and turned off the car. "I think we should knock, just to make sure." he said, opening his door and then his daughters. "Come on."

Seraphina hopped out and followed her father up the steps to Jamie's front door. He peered into the murky blackness beyond the glass that was inlaid in the top of the door, but he could see nothing. He knocked.

No answer.

He knocked again, harder.

Nothing.

"Jamie!" Kozmotis called. "It's me, Kozmotis! Is anyone home?"

This time he heard a bang and a loud grunting noise. He frowned. What on earth could that be?

"JAMIE!" he yelled. "Jamie, is something wrong? Let me in!"

He heard some heavy footsteps and that strange grunting again, but no voices. Were their burglars in Jamie's house? Or worse yet, a wild animal?

"JA-" Kozmotis yelled, but he was interrupted by a smashing sound and a loud yell. It didn't sound human. _That's it, I'm breaking down the door._ He thought, taking a step back. "Seraphina, I want you to go back to the car and wait for me, OK?"

She instantly began to protest. "No! I want to go with you!"

"Seraphina," Kozmotis hissed, motioning for her to lower her volume. "Listen," he told her sternly. "It might be dangerous. I don't know if they are inside or if it's burglars or something else entirely, but I'm not putting you in danger. If you hear me scream your name, run. Don't hide in the car, run to the nearest neighbor and tell them to call nine one one. Tell them burglars broke into next door and that I am inside. If they ask you any questions, just ignore them and tell them to bring the police, do you understand?"

She nodded slowly. "I understand dad." she said. Her eyes were wide and afraid. Kozmotis heard the grunting noise and he wrapped his arms around her quickly, kissed her on the head, and then released her.

"Go!" He ordered.

She ran to the car and dove into the back seat, closing and locking all four doors behind her. Kozmotis turned back to the door and, taking a few more steps back, rammed his shoulder into the door with all his might. The door slammed open, but didn't break, and he stepped through the threshold, looking around with his fists raised.

"Jamie!" He called. "Where are you?" It was dark, too dark for him to see and he groped for a light switch with his right hand. His fingers found the switch and he quickly turned it on, illuminating the hallway. There was nothing out of the ordinary there, but as Kozmotis took a step forward he froze when he heard a bellow from somewhere down the hall and to his left.

"What the hell is that?" he muttered, staring into the darkness before him. "A bear? No, bears don't live around here." _What then? _"Whatever it is, it had better have a good reason for being here and an even better one for Jamie and Sophie not being here."

Kozmotis made his way down the hall slowly, looking everywhere for the source of the mysterious sound. Half-way to the living room, Kozmotis decided to stoop and pick up a fire poker that was hanging on a hook by the fireplace that Jamie and most residents of Burgess had in their homes. He raised it in both hands and slowly crept forward. The grunting had stopped and he didn't have a clue where the mysterious enemy was.

"Hello?" he called out quietly, but not in a whisper. Now, you may think this was a stupid move for someone who was sneaking around a house like Kozmotis was, but in all honesty it was a good move. If more than one person replied, he knew where they were and, more importantly, how many there were. Unfortunately, the only reply Kozmotis got was a low grunting that he could barely hear, coming from ahead.

"Who's there?" he called out in a loud, clear voice. And this time someone answered.

"Wertaga yag ragga!"

Kozmotis blinked. Was that English? "I warn you, I'm armed!" He called. "Come out into the open!"

"Bwerg yagada!"

Kozmotis gripped his fire poker The voice was getting closer, coming towards him. He needed to find a way to subdue it, whoever or whatever it was.

"Gragga yabagawa Jamie!"

Kozmotis tensed. Jamie! Had the intruder just said Jamie? "Where is Jamie Benett?" he called.

"Kegasaga dagada!"

Kozmotis could hear the sound of footsteps now. Big, lumbering footsteps like a huge animal and they were coming right for him! Now he could make out a big, hulking figure moving slowly towards him, waving it's arms and speaking in that nonsense language.

"I warn you," Kozmotis said again, though now that he could see the size of whatever it was he wasn't feeling so cocky. "I'm armed! Tell me where Jamie and Sophie Bennett are and I'll let you go!"

The big person made a noise like a deep, throaty growl and Kozmotis knew then that there was going to be a fight and he did not like his chances. He would have to hurt the creature. He didn't want to, he really didn't, but he needed to find the children and this thing was standing in his way.

"One last warning," Kozmotis said as the creature moved forward. It was almost into the light now. Kozmotis could see a lot of fur in what he assumed was the creature's head. Maybe it was a bear. _No bear can stand up on it's hind legs for that amount of time!_

"Kegasaga dagada!" the creature repeated, raising it's furry arms and and lunging for him. Kozmotis dodged and swung his fire-poker across the beast's back, knocking it to the ground. It was quickly on it's feet and now that the light was on it, Kozmotis could see it clearly. It had a furry face, bright eyes and a strange, long white mustache that reached it's stomach. It looked angry and bellowed some kind of war cry, then lunged for him again.

Kozmotis tried to dodge but there wasn't much room and the creature grabbed him by the arms. It's grip was like iron!

"Let me go!" Kozmotis yelled, beating at the arm that held him with the fire-poker.

The creature moaned in pain and threw him into the living room, then it followed after, obviously intending on finishing him off. Kozmotis got to his feet and, poising the poker in both hands, prepared to drive the thing back into the light of the hall so that he could see while he fought. The living room was pitch black and he could barely see a thing!

"Where are they?!" he yelled.

"Wertaga yag ragga?!" the beast bellowed, lumbering forward with it's arms outstretched.

Kozmotis ducked under the arms and turned, using his momentum to leap onto the creature's back and he wrapped his arms around it's furry neck. The creature roared and tried to buck him, but Kozmotis knew that whatever it was couldn't survive without oxygen. His gambit soon paid off when the thing sank to it's knees and, with one last grunt, keeled over. Kozmotis rolled off the creature and quickly turned it over. He didn't want it to die, whatever it was.

Now that he got a better look at it, the creature actually didn't look that frightening. It had a small pink nose and a weird little ponytail sticking up from the top of it's head. It was kind of sweet, in a huge and hulking way.

"Well, that's over and done with." Kozmotis said, wiping his forehead. "Now I need to find a way to keep it contained."

He stood and, after making his way to the front door and calling out to Seraphina that he was OK, he headed for the small door he assumed led to a garage beneath the house where he might find some rope. The door did lead to the garage and he did find rope, so he toed the creature up by the ankles and wrists, then he dragged it over to the garage and slowly, so that he wouldn't hurt it, slid it down the stairs. He knew that, once the creature woke up neither ropes nor doors would stop it, but he wasn't sure what else to do.

After he was done, he went back upstairs to get his daughter. She was standing on the front porch and looked terrified. "Dad!" she cried, flinging herself into her father's arms and wrapping her own thin arms around her father's waist. "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine dear," he said, bending down to give her a real hug. "It didn't hurt me."

"What _was_ it dad?" she asked, looking at his perspiring face. "I heard weird noises. Was it an Ogre?"

Kozmotis glanced behind him. "Honestly, I don't know what it was. It looked like a bear, but it sounded like it was speaking in a language. I don't know _what_ language, but I'm sure it was a language."

Seraphina pulled away from her father and asked hesitantly, "Can I see it dad?"

"Absolutely not!" Kozmotis said sternly. "It's far too dangerous, and I'll not have you getting hurt."

"But dad-"

"No buts Seraphina," he said, putting two hands on her shoulders. "I don't know what that thing is, where it came from, where Jamie and Sophie are or anything. We need to keep it in the basement and now we need to go look for Jamie and Sophie. Can you go search the rooms for me?"

Seraphina nodded.

"I'm going to go see if that thing can tell me where they are, alright? Under no circumstances are you to come down there, OK? I don't want you near that thing."

"But dad, suppose it's friendly!" she said. "Suppose it wasn't trying to hurt you."

Kozmotis sighed. "Maybe," he said, humoring her. In truth, that thing didn't look like it had wanted to attack him but it had still done so. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the thing.

"Can we at least put a blanket over it?" she asked, pleading with him.

Kozmotis sighed. "Alright. Alright. I'll go put a blanket over it and you go search for Jamie and Sophie. Tell me if you find them and if they are unconscious or tied up."

Seraphina nodded and, with one last hug from her father, she trotted off down the hall. Kozmotis watched her go, closed the door quietly, then headed for the basement. The thing was still laying where he'd left it at the bottom of the stairs on the cold, hard cement ground. Kozmotis frowned. It wouldn't do to have it freeze, so he went back upstairs for a blanket and spread the blanket out on the floor, then he rolled the beast onto it. It groaned.

"Can you understand me?" Kozmotis asked, bending down until he was at face-level with the creature. "Please, I'm sorry I hurt you but you were trying to hurt me as well. I was obliged to defend myself."

The creature groaned again, but this time there was some sounds that resembled words mixed in.

"Please, I'm sorry." Kozmotis apologized again. He didn't want to hurt the thing and he _had_ only been defending himself. "If you can speak my language, can you tell me where Sophie and Jamie Benett are?"

The creature stirred.

"Jamie?" he asked, then it growled and started to roll back and forth.

"No no, please, I don't want to knock you out again!" Kozmotis told it, backing up. "I want to know where they are because I care about them!"

The creature stopped moving, but it stared distrustfully at him.

"Please," he said, walking over to it again. This time he didn't bend down. "I just want to know if they are safe. I-"

"Dad!" Seraphina called from the top of the stairs. "I can't find them. It looks like they aren't here."

Kozmotis frowned. "Are you sure?" he called.

"Positive. Unless they've been moving each time I check a place, they aren't here." she said firmly. "Did you put the blanket over it?"

"I did," Kozmotis said, even though it wasn't true.

Seraphina, like her mother, had the annoying and often alarming ability to tell when he was lying and so she said, "No you didn't. I'm coming down."

"No!" Kozmotis said, his attention switching back and forth from the creature on the ground to the stairs. "Seraphina Grace Pitchner don't you dare!"

But she was already descending the stairs. "Dad, it's alright. I won't go near it." She promised.

Kozmotis sighed a long-suffering sigh. "Didn't I tell you-"

"Dad, I just want to see it!" she said, her feet coming into view and then her legs, her torso and finally her face. "I promise not to do anything stupid."

Kozmotis wiped his hand across his brow and sighed. "Alright, alright. Come on down." That last bit was kind of redundant, as she was already two thirds of the way down.

"Thanks dad," she said, hopping the last step and landing on the ground at the creature's feet. "So, does it talk?"

"It said Jamie's name," Kozmotis said, shrugging. "and it seems to understand me. At least, a little."

"Huh." Seraphina said, looking at the big furry creature. She'd never seen it's like before.

"I wonder how it got here." Kozmotis murmured after a few minutes of silence. Then he looked up at Seraphina. "That thing couldn't have picked a lock and there weren't any broken windows."

"Where are Jamie and Sophie?" Seraphina asked in a slow, clear voice. As if she was talking to an invalid.

The figure on the ground moaned and made the low sounds that Kozmotis attributed as his speech and before Kozmotis could ask again if it knew where they were, he heard the sound of breaking pottery and he whirled around. Jamie was standing on the stairs, staring down at the bound figure in amazement. He was wearing a black coat that looked much too large for him and a black beany over his unruly brown hair.

"Jamie!" Kozmotis said, relieved to see the boy well and apparently unharmed. "What are you doing?" he asked as he bounded up the steps to him. "Where _were_ you?"

Jamie didn't respond for a moment, then he opened his mouth and said the most unexpected thing Kozmotis had ever heard.

_"Phil?!" _

The creature stirred and raised it's head. When it saw Jamie it let out a loud roar and tried to roll over to get to it's feet but the bonds prevented it from rising past it's knees.

"Phil! Oh my god, what are you doing here?" Jamie asked, frantically running down the stairs and past a stunned Kozmotis and Seraphina. "Why are you tied up? Kozmotis, did you see who did this?"

Kozmotis winced and slowly made his way down the stairs. "Uh, that would be me, Jamie." he said hesitantly.

Jamie rounded on him. "What?!"

Kozmotis flinched. "It tried to attack me!" he protested. "I didn't want to kill it, so I knocked it out and dragged it down here!"

Jamie glanced at 'Phil'. "You tried to attack him?" he asked in yetish, a language North had taught him to speak fluently. To Kozmotis and Seraphina, it sounded like "Ger fwagada yag mar widi?"

"Of course I did! Jamie, it's Pitch!" Phil cried angrily, straining against his bonds. "RUN!"

Jamie sighed and moved over to the yeti. "Phil, listen, I know he looks a lot like Pitch, but he's not. His name is Kozmotis and that," he paused and pointed at Seraphina. "Is his daughter, Seraphina."

"It's a trick! Jamie, don't believe him!" Phil protested, still fighting the ropes.

"Phil!" Jamie cried exasperatedly. "This is the guy who saved Jack! He's at his house right now, safe because Kozmotis stepped in to fight a Nightmare and saved Jack."

Phil froze. "He- he fought a Nightmare?" he stammered, staring with wide eyes at Kozmotis. "That's not possible. Jamie, if he's human-"

"I know. I've been wondering that too," Jamie whispered. "But let's take this one thing at a time. First of all," here he switched to English. "Where are a pair of scissors? Phil's really not comfortable like this."

"Jamie, you can't be serious!" Kozmotis exclaimed, astounded that the boy was trusting this thing, even if he could speak it's language.

"I am. Phil is a kind yeti and he won't hurt you if I tell him not to." Jamie said simply, giving him a familiar look. It was the look Sara used in courts. Kozmotis called it the 'No-nonsense-lawyer look. "Now, scissors. Then we can go upstairs and talk about this like civilized people."

Kozmotis sighed. "Alright, alright. But if he takes a step towards me or my daughter I am not just going to sit there."

Jamie nodded. "Understood." then he said something in the grunting language to Phil, who nodded. "Phil promises not to hurt you and he apologizes for attacking you. He thought you were P- uh, " Jamie faltered. "Some old enemy of his." he finished, glancing at Phil. Phil nodded and said something back to him. "He also wants to know that, if he injured you he's very pro- prof-" Jamie paused again. "Say it one more time old friend."

Phil grunted.

"Pro...fish...ant." Jamie said slowly. "Proficient. Yeah. He says that he's a proficient healer and can take care of any wounds you have."

Kozmotis was surprised to say the least. I knock it out, tie it up and interrogate it, and it asks me if I'm injured so that it can heal me._ My, these creatures are a strange lot._

As if reading his thoughts, Jamie smiled. "Yetis don't hold a grudge long. He knows the error was his and he wants to make it up to you."

Kozmotis nodded. "Oh. Well, thank him for the offer, but I'm fine. And tell him I'm sorry for tying him up." he added with an apologetic look at Phil.

Phil seemed to understand this without Jamie's help because he nodded and grunted something that sounded like "All good."

Jamie beamed. "There, you see? You are getting along. Now I've got to go find those scissors. I'll be back in a second." he said, turning and heading up the stairs. "Be good guys!"

Both Kozmotis and Phil rolled their eyes at the same time and Seraphina laughed.

Jamie was indeed only gone a minute and when he came back with a pair of big black scissors and cut the ropes, Phil straightened up and stretched his massive body.

"Better big guy?" Jamie asked, patting Phil's side.

"BETTER." Phil grunted, then he made his lumbering way for the stairs. Jamie followed, then Kozmotis with Seraphina bringing up the rear. Phil led them to the living room and, when he realized just how cold it was, quickly made a big fire in the fireplace with the ease of an expert.

"Where did he learn to do that?" Kozmotis asked, staring at the crackling fire in the fireplace. The logs had come from a bin near the fireplace and Phil had used paper for tinder.

"He lives in the North Pole." Jamie replied. "It's always cold there. You have to learn how to keep warm- Phil! Really, you don't have to clean up!" he added when the big yeti set about cleaning up the over-turned chairs and fallen knick-knacks from the fight.

Phil just grunted and continued his work. Jamie sighed and sat back down. "Well, that's that." he muttered.

Kozmotis gave Jamie a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"

"All yetis have a little quirk," Jamie said, smiling as he watched Phil coming over to him with a pile of blankets in his arms. "They all like people to be happy. If someone's sad, they will do anything in their power to make them feel better. They also like to keep things neat and organized. They're kind of like big, furry kids with OCDC."

Kozmotis laughed. "OCD, Jamie, not OCDC." he corrected. "But I get your point. Uh, no Phil. Thank you, but I'm fine." he added when the yeti handed him a dark blanket.

"Kozmotis, humor him." Jamie said quickly when he noticed the hurt look in Phil's eyes. "He wants to make up for the fight and this is the only way he knows how."

Kozmotis looked form the dark blue blanket to Phil, then he sighed. "I am actually kind of cold." he admitted, taking the blanket.

"That's the ticket!" Jamie said, smiling as he wrapped his own favorite green blanket around his shoulders. "And, if we're lucky, he might make us some hot chocolate!"

"Yes please!" Seraphina chirped from her little nest of blankets.

Kozmotis shook his head. "Jamie, we can't just sit around here drinking hot chocolate. I have to let my wife know what's going on."

Jamie blinked. "Oh. OK." he said, sounding a little put-out. "Well. OK. Goodnight Kozmotis. Goodnight Co-"

"Hold on," Kozmotis said, raising a hand. "You're coming with us."

Jamie's eyes widened. "Uh, I can't." he said quickly, suddenly sounding less like a grown-up and more like a nervous boy again. "I've, ah, got school! Yeah, and I can't-"

"Jamie, you're mother's not home and neither is your father for the second night that I know of." Kozmotis interrupted, looking at him sternly. "I don't know what's going on with your family, but I am not going to leave you alone in this house without provisions or someone to watch over you."

"But I've got food!" Jamie protested. "And my mom's just out! She should be back-"

"Jamie," Kozmotis interrupted. "We both know that's not true. That red car in the driveway, it wasn't your mother was it?"

Jamie shifted. "How do you know it wasn't?" he asked defiantly.

"I can tell, Jamie. I've been around children long enough to tell when they're lying."

"Well, so what if it wasn't?" Jamie asked, setting his jaw firmly. "It's not any of your business. Me and Sophie, we're fine just like we are!"

Kozmotis sighed. "Jamie, you are not fine. You aren't capable of watching over a five-year-old full-time and going to school. Speaking of the little whirlwind, where is she?" he asked, diverting his tone for a minute form the serious one and into a more confused one. "I haven't seen her yet."

Jamie's eyes widened and he nearly fell over in his haste to get off the couch. "Oh crud!" He muttered, throwing off the blanket and heading for the blanket cupboard.

Kozmotis jumped up and followed, calling, "Jamie, what's wrong?"

Seraphina, who had been listening intently to Jamie and her father's conversation, followed more slowly, clutching her purple blanket around her thin shoulders, wondering what all the fuss was about. Phil, who had heard raised voices but hadn't intervened because he knew that Jamie didn't want him to, stuck his head into the hall and, when he noticed Jamie was running fast with the other two humans following he stepped into the hall and followed as well, wondering what Jamie was so worried about.

Jamie stopped right in front of the hall closet and threw the little door open. Inside, he found little Sophie snoring away with her thumb in her mouth. "Soph!" he cried, half laughing. "Oh god Sophie, I'm sorry I forgot about you Munchkin." he said, pulling her gently out and hugging her close. "Thanks Kozmotis! I might've forgotten about her otherwise!"

Kozmotis stopped right behind the bot and frowned. "Why was Sophie in the cupboard?" he asked suspiciously, looking at the sleeping girl in Jamie's arms.

"In case there were burglars." Jamie replied. "I didn't want her to get hurt and I told her that if I didn't come back, to stay here until she heard people leaving the house. Poor little girl must've fallen asleep."

Kozmotis peered into the cupboard, then he looked back at the little girl. "Jamie, she might've suffocated in there!" he said. "She could be suffering from oxygen depletion-"

"No, she's not. She's just asleep. And she couldn't have died any way. I left it open a crack." Jamie said quickly, pointing to something at the back of the cupboard. "And see there? It's a vent. Provides a lot of extra air for a very small person. She would've been fine."

Kozmotis saw the vent and nodded. "I'm see. I apologize."

"S'alright." Jamie said, shrugging and turning around to head back to the living room. The others followed and soon they were sitting on the couch again.

"Jamie, please," Kozmotis said, looking at the boy with his little sister nestled in his arms. "Please, come home with me. We've got spare rooms and you can stay with Sophie. We just want you to be safe."

"Kozmotis really, I'm safe here." Jamie said quietly, not wanting to wake Sophie. "I've got a yeti to protect me for Pete's sake. I can't get much more protected than-"

"Hold it," Phil said in yetish, raising a hand. "Jamie, what's going on? Why does he want you to come back to his house so much?"

All eyes went to him and Jamie sighed. "He thinks that I can't handle myself here alone, just because I'm a kid. But really, with you here I should be fine."

"Jamie," Phil said slowly. "I can't stay here. North sent me to retrieve Jack. That's why I'm here and after I find him, I have to bring him home to the Pole so that he can recuperate there."

Jamie's face fell. "What?" he asked, not sure that he'd heard the big yeti right.

"I'm here for Jack," Phil said, walking over to him and placing a big hand on his shoulder. "I came here by snow globe because the globe said this was where Jack was. This city, I mean, but I couldn't find out exactly where, so I decided to come here to ask you but you weren't home and then all this," he gestured to the room and Kozmotis. "happened. I need to find Jack, and soon. You said he was at this man's house?" he pointed to Kozmotis again.

Jamie nodded.

"Well, then that's where I'm going. And you and Sophie are coming with me." Phil said firmly, folding his arms.

Jamie would've protested loudly, except for the fact that Sophie was in his arms. "But Phil, I can't-"

"Jamie," Phil interrupted, looking down at him with a no-nonsense look. "I'm not leaving you alone either. You are going with me to this man's house and then I'm going to take Jack. If you want to stay at this man's house than that's fine, but North will be worried if I don't bring Jack back soon."

Jamie opened his mouth to protest, but Phil stopped him again. "Either you go with man to his house, or we go by snow globe. Either way, you're going. Do you understand?"

Jamie pouted at him, then he glared, then he sighed and said, "Alright! Fine! I'll do it. _Stupid stubborn yeti_." he muttered under his breath when Phil clapped him on the shoulder.

"What? What will you do?" Kozmotis asked, jumping into the conversation. He had been listening closely to the exchange and it seemed Phil was telling him something very important. Jamie didn't like it, but Phil was being insistent.

Jamie sighed again. "Phil says he has to take Jack back to the North Pole. North was getting worried about him, so he sent Phil to find him and he ended up here, at my house because he couldn't pinpoint his location on the globe."

Kozmotis frowned. "Globe?"

"Yes. North had a giant Globe at the North Pole where he keeps track of the number of believers in the Guardians." Jamie said, then he winced. "Oh heck, I don't think I was supposed to tell you that."

But Kozmotis wasn't paying attention to that. He was more focused on Jack. "Wait, did you say he has to take Jack? Why? Wouldn't it be better for him to not be moved?"

Jamie shrugged. "I know a bit about it, but not much. Maybe being in the North Pole might quicken Jack's healing process or something, or maybe it's because North's paranoid and wants Jack home. I don't know. The bottom line is, Phil needs to get to your house to take Jack back to the Pole and he's not leaving until I come with."

Kozmotis frowned. "Wait, so you are coming?" he asked.

"I don't have a choice." Jamie grumbled. "Phil has a snow globe. He says either I go with you, or I go with him."

Kozmotis frowned again. "Snow globe?"

"A magical Snow globe." Jamie elaborated. "It transports you anywhere in the world."

Kozmotis's eyes went wide. "Really?" The implications. . .

"Yeah. That's what you saw me hiding behind my back at your house. A snow globe. I brought it just in case I needed to get somewhere in a hurry." Jamie said. "It's actually upstairs. I can go get it if-"

"No." Kozmotis and Phil said together. They both saw the sparkle in Jamie's eyes. It meant that he probably planned to use the snow globe to get away with his sister.

Jamie sat back down. "OK, OK, fine." he said. "Can't blame me for trying."

Phil and Kozmotis shared a look. _Kids._

"OK then, so that's settled." Kozmotis said. "Uh, Phil, I think you should accompany our young friend to his room while he packs. Jamie, I think you should stay with us for a few days. Three at the most."

"Three!" Jamie protested, but he fell silent when Sophie squirmed in his arms. "You're lucky I have her here," he hissed at Kozmotis, who simply smiled. Jamie stood and stomped as loudly as he was able to with Sophie in his arms down the hall to his room. Phil followed, giving Kozmotis a salute.

"I didn't know you could speak Yetish dad." Seraphina remarked from her bundle of blankets. "So, is Jamie staying?"

"Oh yes." Kozmotis said, a self-satisfied smile on his face.

"Are you sure he can't stay in my room?"

"Oh no."

XXXXXXXXXXX

About fifteen minutes later, Jamie came back downstairs leading a wide-awake Sophie who was dressed in the same outfit from when they had gone out to the store. Jamie- who was still wearing his own jacket, was carrying two bags. One was a gym bag with the elementary-school insignia on the side which was crammed with clothes, toiletries and a few books. The other was a pink backpack with Sophie's clothes, her favorite sets of wings and a few stuffed animals which she couldn't live without.

"All ready?" Kozmotis asked, surveying the bags. "Are you sure Sophie doesn't need anything else?" he nodded at the rather small backpack.

"She's a trooper, isn't that right Munchkin?" Jamie asked, ruffling Sophie's pink hat-covered head.

"Trooper!" Sophie chirped.

"Aww," Seraphina said, bending down to look at Sophie. She had inherited her father's tallness and stood about a foot taller than Jamie. "She's even cuter than the last time I saw her! Hello Sophie, do you remember me?"

"Coal!" Sophie exclaimed, tugging her little hand free from Jamie's and throwing her arms around the girl's neck. "Coal! Good Coal!"

Seraphina laughed. "What do you mean, _good_ _Coal_?" she asked, looking at Sophie with an amused smile. "Do I have an evil sister I don't know about?"

"No, you the good kind of Coal." Sophie said, letting go of her and giving her such a serious look that Seraphina busted up laughing.

"Oh? And what's the _bad_ kind of Coal?" she asked, tickling little Sophie under the chin.

"Sock Coal." Sophie replied without batting an eyelash. This made all the humans in the room bust up laughing while Sophie and Phil just stood there staring at each other uncertainly, as if they couldn't believe they associated with such strange people.

"OK," Kozmotis said when he'd finished laughing. "OK, I admit that was adorable."

"Sock Coal!" Seraphina squeaked, then she started laughing again.

Jamie chuckled. "My little sister the two-foot comedian." he said fondly, ruffling her head again.

After Seraphina stopped laughing, Kozmotis asked Jamie if he was sure he had everything. Jamie said he was. He grabbed the spare key, which Kozmotis noticed was under a plant on the counter top and not in the cereal cupboard as Jamie had previously led him to believe, and then Kozmotis led them all down out of the house and to his car. There he stopped. "Uh, Jamie? We might have a bit of a problem."

"What?" Jamie asked.

"Space." Kozmotis replied. "I don't think your Yeti friend will be able to fit."

Jamie glanced at Phil who had sidled over to them. "He's right big man, I don't think you'll be able to fit in there with us, even if you sit in the front seat."

Phil shrugged. "Big whoop." he said or, in yetish, "Waga mertunda." "I can run along the sidewalk, following the car."

"That's kind of dangerous, don't you think?" Jamie asked uncertainly, looking at the car, then back up at Phil. "What if you can't keep up? What it someone sees you?"

"Waga mertunda. I've outrun caribou that were faster than this metal bug."

Jamie shrugged. "OK."

"What?" Kozmotis asked.

"Phil says he can run behind us. He says he's fast enough to keep up with the car."

Kozmotis glanced at the yeti. "Uh, are you sure Phil?"

Phil gave him a look and Kozmotis shut up.

"OK then." Jamie said. "Pile in everybody."

Everybody piled in. Jamie sat in the back with Sophie and Seraphina sat in the front. Kozmotis turned the key and revved the engine, then he backed up out of the driveway and headed down the road at a speed of fifteen miles per hour.

About three minutes in Phil slowly walked over to the car while it was still moving and rapped on the window.

"What?" Kozmotis asked. "Am I going too fast?"

Phil said something in yetish.

"Phil says just punch it already. He's seen crabs without legs move faster." Jamie supplied from the back.

Seraphina and Sophie laughed and Kozmotis gripped the steering wheel. "OK. You want a race?" he called to the yeti.

Phil motioned for him to _bring it on _and Kozmotis cackled, putting his foot on the gas and the car shot forward. The speedometer shot up to forty and the children squealed.

"I'll give you a race!" Kozmotis called to Phil, who was- miraculously, still running beside them. Phil stuck his tongue out and sped up, almost over-taking the car. Kozmotis put his foot on the gas again and thought with a broad smile on his face, _Who knew I would grow up to race yetis, save winter spirits and fight Nightmares. Mom would be so proud._


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi guys, I'm back! I hope you missed me because this story really needs some love! **

**OK, I would like to thank the generous people who review this story and I'm happy that people actually _do_ read this story. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

To Kozmotis's vast annoyance, Phil was the one who won the race. They lost sight of him about a mile from the house and Kozmotis whooped and laughed with glee at what he thought was his first win against the yeti, but when they turned the corner and came into his driveway they found Phil sitting on his front porch with his arm out, as if checking the time on an invisible watch.

"Bah!" Kozmotis said, rolling into the driveway and rolling down his window. "You may have won this time yeti, but I challenge you to a rematch as soon as this insanity is over!"

Phil yawned and mimed boredom. The children laughed.

"He beat you fair and square, Kozmotis." Jamie said, still laughing.

"Square fair! Square fair!" Sophie chirped, clapping her small hands and bouncing up and down in her seat.

"He won dad." Seraphina pronounced gravely. "You lost a race to a mythical creature."

"Yes yes I know!" Kozmotis said crossly, braking and parking the car. "You don't have to rub it in."

They all got out and, after picking up his and Sophie's bags and slinging them over his shoulders, Jamie picked up his little sister's hand and headed to the porch. Kozmotis went around back to pick up the grocery bags. It was just as well that they hadn't gotten ice cream. Even with the weird April chill, it would've melted. Seraphina asked of she could hold Sophie's hand as well and Jamie said sure. They walked with her to the edge of the steps and then swung her up one at a time, holding her between them.

"Weee!" Sophie squealed. "Weeee! Wee wee!"

"That's my girl," Jamie said, letting go of her hand once they reached the top step.

Phil held out his arms and Sophie, knowing Phil, ran into them laughing. "Phil!" She yelled with delight. "Phil! Phil Phil Phil!" eventually she hadn't seen Phil before.

"Yes, it's me little whirlwind." he said.

Sophie, who had picked up the language just as quickly as English, said, "I no wind! I Sophie!"

Phil nodded and smiled. "I see you've been practicing," he said. "Give me your best fierce roar!"

"RAWR!" Sophie roared in her little giggly voice, causing Kozmotis to jump and nearly spill the groceries.

"Sophie!" he admonished when he'd recovered himself. "You scared me out of my skin! Don't do that dear, I beg of you!"

Sophie frowned and gave him a queer look.

"What?"

"You still have skin." she stated, pointing to his hands. "I no scare you out of your skin. You still have skin."

Kozmotis glowered at Jamie and Seraphina, who had dissolved into helpless giggling. "Fine example you're setting for your sister," he grumbled as he stamped up to join them on the big porch. "Sara!" He called. "Has anyone tried the door? Sara! I'm home! And I've brought company!"

"AT BLOODY LAST!"

Kozmotis cringed as a door slammed somewhere deep in the house and hurried footsteps started towards them.

"I...don't think mom's happy with you dad." Seraphina said, looking nervously at the house.

"Why? It's only been about an hour, right?"

"Try three, dad."

"Three and a half." Jamie piped up. "Our clocks are fast."

Kozmotis groaned. "I'm dead."

"Kozmotis! Where are you?!" she yelled. She was closer now. Kozmotis tried to hide behind Phil but the big yeti just chuckled and moved behind the children.

"You're on your own buddy." he grunted.

"Kozmotis! Kozmotis where are the children?"

"Ya locked the door woman!" he hollered back. "I don't have the use of my hands currently."

She muttered a string of curses that, thankfully, were in different languages. "Alright, alright I'm coming." she called and, five minutes later the door was thrown open and Kozmotis Pitchner's wife stepped out. "Oh heavens, it's colder than a yeti's bum out here!" she said, taking one of the grocery bags from Kozmotis and picking up her daughter's hand with the other. "Come on children, let's get you all inside."

Phil grunted a "Hey!" At the yeti bum comment and she turned to see where it had come from. When she saw Phil her eyes widened and she opened her mouth to scream, but Kozmotis used his free hand to quickly cover it so the noise was muffled.

"Shh! Dear, listen, this is Phil! He's a friend of Jack's!" he said, trying got put himself between his wife and the yeti, just in case Phil would take offense. "He's harmless unless we hurt the children, which we wouldn't because we're good people! OK? He won't hurt us or them. He needs to get Jack back to the North Pole for proper medical help, so I told him to come with us. Jamie knows him and he can communicate with him. He's a friend."

His wife nodded dumbly, still staring at Phil. Phil didn't take this offensive at all, however, and nodded politely to her.

"Can we go inside miss?" he asked, gesturing to the door. "It's rather cold out here and I don't want whirlwind catching a cold."

"What did he say?" she asked breathlessly, looking at Jamie. It as clear she was freaked out.

"He asks if we can go inside. He doesn't want whirlwind- that's what he calls my sister, by the way," Jamie said, pointing to Sophie who was holding onto his and Phil's hands. "To catch a cold."

Sara Pitchner stared at Phil for another long moment, then she seemed to come to her senses and nodded. "Y- yes, of course. Come right in, children. Ah, Phil."

Phil nodded. "Much obliged."

"He says much obliged." Jamie said as they all trooped into the house, first Kozmotis and his family and then Jamie, Sophie, and Phil bringing up the rear.

Kozmotis and Sara led the party to the living room where Kozmotis invited them all to sit.

"Uh, I'll just go make us some, ah... tea!" his wife offered, obviously eager to get away from Phil. "Yes, tea, that's the thing for cold weather!"

Phil, who had just sat down, stood again and said, "Miss, I'd like to thank you for being so hospitable. Us Yetis have thick hide, but we all need warming up occasionally. However, I have a duty to Nicholas St. North to deliver Jack Frost to the North Pole as soon as possible, and I must complete my mission. I would, however, like to make you some hot chocolate as a thank you for taking care of Jack and watching over him. North Pole chocolate is the best on the earth, and even though it won't be enough for all the kindness you've shown Jack, hopefully it can be a start."

Everyone listened to this long speech, which was made in Yetish, politely and without interrupting. The humans in the room who couldn't understand Yetish, namely Kozmotis, his wife and daughter, understood only places and names like like 'North Pole' and 'Jack Frost'. When he was done, Sara looked at Jamie for a translation.

Jamie relaid the message and Sara, surprised by the big creature's manners, was quite blown away. "Ah, um," she stammered, not quite sure where to look. "Thank- thank you Phil. Uh, yes, Jack is in the bathroom down the hall. It was the only place my husband could think to put him where he would be safe. Um... Yes some hot chocolate would be lovely, but I'm not sure we have anything but the dark chocolate horde my husband keeps in the bottom draws by the fridge and thinks I don't know about it." Here she shot the aforementioned husband a look.

Jamie translated this and Phil laughed. "Miss, I am a yeti. I live at the North Pole. I can make hot chocolate out of anything." he said, smiling kindly. "but I have to check on Jack first, if that's alright with you."

Jamie translated this and she nodded. "Oh yes, I would expect nothing less! Uh, here I'll go show you. This way," she said, leading the yeti to the bathroom.

Kozmotis watched his wife leave and as soon as she was behind the wall and out of sight, he let out a sigh of relief and flopped down on the couch. "Saints alive, she didn't murder me for bringing home a yeti." he muttered, clasping his hands together in thanks. "Thank you thank you thank you!"

Jamie smiled. "Yeah, they seem to be getting along much better than I thought!" he said, also sitting down. Sophie threw herself into the big black chair and laughed as it rocked. Seraphina sat gently down next to Jamie and smiled at him.

"I had no idea your yetish was so good." she said.

"Well, I've been learning for three years," Jamie replied modestly.

Kozmotis rolled his eyes. "Alright kids, let's get things situated. The food needs to be put in the kitchen, and we need to figure out where you both are sleeping tonight."

"Can't Jamie and Sophie sleep in my room dad?" Seraphina begged for the third time since she'd learned they two were staying. "Please please please?"

"We've been over this Sera, no." Kozmotis said firmly.

"Sophie can sleep in there," Jamie said quickly, sensing Kozmotis's reason for not wanting him and his daughter to share a room. It kind of irked him. For goodness's sake, he was eleven! But, hey, it was part of Kozmotis's job to be the over-protective parent. "I'll kick it out in the couch, in here."

Kozmotis shot him a grateful look but Sera pressed the issue. "Please dad?" she begged. "There's plenty of room!"

"Coal, it's OK." Jamie said. "Really, I'm good out here. Sophie can sleep in your room and I'll just curl up on the couch. I did it once before."

Both Kozmotis and Sera looked at him. "When?" they asked.

"Last night." Jamie said, looking at Kozmotis with a raised eyebrow. "Uh, when you brought me here to watch Jack? Remember?"

Kozmotis nodded. "Oh! Yeah, now I remember." he said, smiling. "Actually Jamie, we have a spare room."

"Nah, it's OK." Jamie said. "The couch will be enough."

Kozmotis shrugged. "Alright. Your choice." he stood. "Now we need to start on dinner. I bet you three are hungry."

"Hungwy!" Sophie proclaimed.

"I guess I wouldn't mind something," Jamie admitted. "but don't go to any trouble just for us, please."

"No trouble at all," Kozmotis said, heading for the kitchen with the bag his wife hadn't taken and set it on the counter beside the other one. "We're having spaghetti. Is that alright?"

"Yum!" Sophie said happily.

"Yes, spaghetti would be delicious." Jamie said. "And please, tell me if there's anything I can do to help."

Kozmotis nodded. It was uncanny, how polite and helping the young man was. "I will. Though you can help by checking on Phil and Jack right now. Ask Phil if he wants to stay for dinner."

Jamie nodded and left without another word.

"Seraphina, do you want to take Sophie to your room?" Kozmotis asked his daughter.

"Sure. What about it Soph, do you wanna come with me?"

"Yeah!"

Sophie scrambled out of her big chair and barreled towards Seraphina, grabbing her hand and then pulling her up and out of the room. "We play!"

Seraphina waved to her dad and, pausing only to grab Sophie's bag from the arm of the couch, followed the little girl to the hall. When they were gone, Kozmotis let out a sigh of relief. All alone in his kitchen. Just the way he liked it. "These next few days are going to be absolutely hectic." he muttered, pulling out the first ingredients for the spaghetti. "Now I know why I didn't want another kid."

Jamie came back a few minutes later however, just when Kozmotis was setting the pot to boil for the noodles.

"Phil says that what North won't know won't hurt him. He says he'd love to stay for dinner." he reported, smiling.

"Thank you Jamie." Kozmotis said, washing his hands in the sink. "Your sister is with Sera in her room, though if you don't want to be roped into playing tea party you'd better stay out here."

Jamie's eyes widened in horror. "Oh dear goodness _no_, thank you!" he said, sitting down at the dining room table that sat between the kitchen and the living room. "I've been subjected to that horrible fate more than once. It's absolute torture!"

Kozmotis laughed as he dried his hands and set about wrestling the pot for the sauce from it's cupboard. "I've had my fair share." he admitted, smiling. Adding under his breath, "Stupid stubborn pot! Leggo!"

Jamie smirked. "Yes but tell me, did Coal ever force you to dress up in a crown and fairy wings and then sneak pictures on your phone?"

Kozmotis turned around to look at him. "You're not serious!"

"Deadly. She even emailed them to my best friends at school and I was getting fairy post-it notes in my locket for weeks." he replied, straight faced.

"Dear goodness," Kozmotis said, turning back to his sauce. "My blood runs cold at the very thought."

"I got her back for it though," Jamie said, smirking. "On her next birthday I bought an exploding cake on Ebay. She had frosting all over her hair and I had to stick her in the tub for an hour to get it all out!"

Kozmotis turned around again. "How did you buy an exploding cake on Ebay?" he asked quizzically.

Jamie suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Uh, I, um. . ."

Kozmotis's eyes narrowed. "Jamie. . ."

"Uh, I lied!" Jamie said, much too fast for it to be the truth. "Yeah, I- I lied. There was no exploding cake. I just wanted to sound cool or... something." he finished lamely, not looking Kozmotis in the face.

Kozmotis sighed. He believed the boy was telling the truth about the exploding cake. There probably had been one, but he knew from the way he acted that Jamie was lying when he said he was lying. "Jamie, you know I'm a good man right?" he asked, taking a few steps until he was right in front of the boy.

"Yes." Jamie mumbled.

"And do you know that I used to make it my profession to help young children, particularly ones with family-oriented problems?"

"Yes. I read the paper."

Kozmotis nodded. The city paper had published several pieces on him and his work with children. "Well, then you know that I'm only trying to help when I ask you these things. It's nothing to be ashamed of if your parents can't provide for you."

"But she does provide for us!" Jamie burst out, looking up at Kozmotis for the first time. "She sends us money every month no matter what!"

Kozmotis nodded. "OK, but why is she not home with you? Doesn't your father work?"

Jamie hung his head again. "Dad. . ." he hesitated, lacing his fingers together and fidgeting nervously. "Dad died a long time ago. Right before Soph was born."

Kozmotis nodded again. "I see. So it's just your mother supporting you, is that correct?"

"Yeah. And. . ."

"And?"

"And me."

Kozmotis frowned. "You? You're not old enough to hold a job Jamie."

Jamie looked up. There was a small smile on his face and a little of the old sparkle back in his eyes. "You'd be surprised how many places would give a kid ten bucks to go some chores. Your pot is boiling over."

Kozmotis swore and turned back to the stove. Steam billowed from the lid and bubbling water spilled out, making hissing sounds as it hit the stove. "Damn!" he said, switching off the burner and grabbing the noodles. At that heat, the noodles would be cooked far too soon. After a few seconds he slit the top of the package and poured the first one in, then the next. Then he turned the burner back onto low and turned back to Jamie. "Sorry about that," he said. "Now, where were we?"

Jamie smiled. "Talking about me." he said. "Which, if I'm honest isn't the most thrilling of topics. Why don't we talk about you?"

Kozmotis shook his head. "Oh no, don't think you're getting rid of me _that_ easily James Bennett." he said, waving the wooden stirring spoon. Jamie ducked as a globule of hot water flew towards him.

"Hey!"

"Sorry," Kozmotis said, putting down the spoon. "But my point remains. What did you mean when you said places would hire you to do grunt work?"

"I didn't say that." Jamie said, sidling over to the counter and looking at the sauce jar. "I said they'd give me some money, generally a tenner or a fiver, to do some small stuff. Sweep, organize, cover while they go on coffee or smoke breaks, you know. Thank kind of thing."

"Grunt work."

"I prefer to think of it as... Gopher work. You know, go for this, go for that. Do this, do that. Simple stuff. But it gives me some spare money to stick in my account in case I need it."

At this Kozmotis dropped the pot, which, thankfully didn't have the sauce in it, swore, and then picked up the pot, staring at Jamie with an incredulous expression on his face. "You have a bank account?" he asked incredulously.

"Yep." Jamie said, sticking his hand into his picket and proudly pulling out a small wallet. He flipped it open and there, next to a student ID, a medical card and a punch card for the local espresso house, was a blue and gray bank card.

Kozmotis was stunned. "How?" he demanded, snatching the wallet and looking at the card. "Why?"

Jamie shrugged. "Mon thinks that it's good to have options in case something bad happens." he said. "I'll be having that back now, please." he added, holding out his hand for his wallet.

Kozmotis looked at the card, then he handed it back to Jamie. "Do you know if it works?"

"Of course." Jamie said. "I check it each month, just to see if it's expired. I always forget when that happens but luckily I have an amount hidden in the house for when that happens, the account is frozen and I have to pay to activate it again. I really should write it down," he added to himself. Then he shrugged. "Anyway, as you can see I'm well provided for. And I don't spend the money on stupid stuff." he added. "Bills, food and the occasional book. That's it."

Kozmotis stared at Jamie. The boy was an adult in miniature! All he needed to do was get a car and he would be a real, responsible adult. He took care of his sister, he paid bills, he even had a bank card for goodness's sake! He hadn't gotten a bank card until he was thirty!

"You can stop gawking like that," Jamie said, a little annoyed. "Is it so surprising that a kid can be responsible as an adult?"

Kozmotis snapped out of it. "No," he said quickly. "No. It's just... I didn't expect a boy of your age to have to deal with this much reality. Normally kids like you are busy with school and friends and video games."

"Oh I still do all those," Jamie said with a wave of his hand. "I just have to pay bills and take care of my sister too."

Kozmotis nodded. "Still, it's a little sad." he said, turning his attention to the sauce. Opening the jar was all he needed to do and so he did it, plopping the red substance into the pot and stirring, then putting it on low heat. "Parents are supposed to support their kids and do this kind of thing." he said, watching the pot's contents. Sauce bubbled fast.

Jamie shrugged. "Well, one of mine is dead and the other is half way around the world. I manage."

Kozmotis looked up from watching the pot when he heard the _half way around the world part_. Was Jamie's mother an archeologist or a soldier or something like that that demanded lost of travel?"

"And before you ask," Jamie said quickly, raising his hands. "I don't know what she does. Only that she sends me five hundred dollars a month and that whatever she does, she doesn't come home."

Kozmotis's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Five _hundred_?!" He exclaimed. "That's more than I make in two months!"

Jamie smiled. "I know, and you'd think we don't spend all of it but we do. Sophie has to have clothes, food, bills need to be paid etc etc."

Kozmotis let out a breath. "Wow kid. I gotta say, I'm very impressed." he said, turning to the sauce that was now bubbling on the stove. "You're doing more than most people do for themselves and another person and you haven't even hit puberty!" he stirred the sauce with the spoon.

Jamie nodded. "I know. I know. And it's not bad at all. I mean sure it's lonely for me, but I don't care much. I've got my friends and that's enough for me. Sophie doesn't even remember what my mom looks like and, for that matter I don't either. All the knows is me now."

"How long has this been going on?" Kozmotis asked.

"A couple of years." Jamie replied. "At first she was just gone in short lengths, then she began staying longer. It was right after Jack defeated Pitch that she told me she needed to go for good. She promised she would send money and she did. I learned how to do the kind of stuff that adults do, pay bills and go grocery shopping, quickly. Mind you, I did have some mishaps." he added, smiling. "Two years ago I forgot to send the electric bill and it was shut off right in the middle of me watching a comedy/horror marathon with Soph. We both screamed like babies."

Kozmotis smiled. "Sounds like quite an experience." he said, pulling the pot of noodles, which were done by now, off the burner and quickly crossing to get a big colander. Once the colander was in place in the sink he grabbed it by the handles and turned the pot over, sending water splashing into the sink and noodles sloshing into the colander. "Ow!" he snarled, hissing when hot water splashed onto his hand.

"The sauce is boiling." Jamie said. Kozmotis moved to grab the hot pan but Jamie got there first, smoothly sliding it onto a different burner and stirring it so that the bottom wouldn't burn.

"Thank you Jamie." he said, flashing a smile at the boy.

"I have to cook for Sophie all the time. She loves spaghetti, but normally we make the sauce." he replied. "Oh boy, you should've seen the first time we made it. I cut my hand slicing the tomato and put cinnamon in the sauce accidentally. It wasn't half bad though," he said, smiling. "Soph loved it."

Kozmotis chuckled. "And I thought I was a gourmet cook." he said dryly, shaking the colander to drain the excess water out. After that he put the noodles back in the pot and turned to the sauce. "Thank you Jamie." he said again. "Could you go and get the Parmesan in the right bag for me? And then the grater? It's in the drawer on your left."

Jamie pulled out the cheese and then set to work finding the grater. It didn't take him long. "Want me to grate this?" he asked, holding up the cheese.

"Sure Jamie. There's a bowl you can grate it over in the cupboard up there." Kozmotis pointed to the upper cupboard above the sink on Jamie's left.

"Righto!"

In less than five minutes, they were done. "Sara, Seraphina, Sophie, Phil! Dinner!" Kozmotis called through the open doorway that led form the living room to the hall.

"Coming dear!"

"Yes dad!"

"FOOD!"

"Grawga!"

Kozmotis laughed. "Plates up there Jamie, and let's get this food put away first."

Jamie grabbed the plates and silverware and Kozmotis set about putting away the bags. Only then did he come across the unrefrigerated burger meat.

"Oh hell!" he said, quickly checking to make sure his wife hadn't seen him and then opening the fridge and thrusting the meat inside. "I hope I'm not too late. That stuff's expensive."

"What's up Kozmotis?" Jamie asked as he set the plates down on the table.

"Oh I forgot the burger meat!" Kozmotis replied sourly. "Well, what they don't know won't hurt them, eh Jamie?"

Jamie laughed. "That's alright Kozmotis. Just make sure your wife doesn't notice before you have a chance to go to the store again."

Kozmotis nodded. "It'll be our little secret." he said.

"Sure." Jamie agreed. "If she asks, we'll tell her either you forgot or Phil can't eat meat. I'll kick him under the table for you in case he doesn't get it."

Kozmotis laughed. "No need to go that far Jamie. I'm sure she won't mind."

Jamie shrugged and divided the six plates, setting forks on each of them. "Can I get mine?" he asked. "Or do you say grace in your family?"

Kozmotis shook his head. "Nope. Dish away."

Jamie nodded and grabbed a plate. "Good. I'm hungry!"

Kozmotis stood back and allowed the boy first crack at the noodles, but he was surprised when the boy didn't get that many. "I thought you said you were hungry," he said, frowning when he saw Jamie put a very small portion of sauce onto his plate.

"I am, but I'm gonna make sure that everybody else gets some first before I go for an actual portion." Jamie replied. "It's a manners thing. Mom drummed it into my skull when I was just a kid."

"You're still a kid."

"Hi all!" Sara said, breezing into the living room and then through the dining room. "Mmm, good smell!"

"Hi dear. Spaghetti." Kozmotis replied.

"Delish!" she exclaimed, taking a seat. "Phil, sit anywhere you like." she added, smiling at the yeti.

Phil smiled back and said that he would eat his in the bathroom if they didn't mind. He wanted to keep an eye on Jack. Jamie replayed this message and Sara shook her head. "Absolutely not. You're a guest, you can eat in here. I understand you're concerned about Jack," she added when Phil glanced at Jamie. "But it's not as if some dark spirit's going to sneak in here and whisk him away!"

Jamie and Phil both exchanged looks. "Uh, Mrs. Pitchner-" Jamie began.

"Please, call me Sara dear boy."

"Sara," Jamie corrected himself. "Uh, Sara, that's exactly what Phil's worried about."

Both adult looked up. "What do you mean Jamie?" Kozmotis asked, puzzled.

Jamie opened his mouth to answer but just then Sophie and Seraphina came waltzing into the room, smiling. "Food!" Seraphina exclaimed, running to the table. "Mmm! Smells great!"

"Food!" Sophie squealed, jumping up and down. "Can I have sour, Jamie? Please please please?" she asked her brother.

Jamie shot both adults and _later_ look, then he turned to Sophie. "Um, sorry munchkin. I don't think they have any onions. Do you?" he asked apologetically, glancing at Kozmotis.

He shrugged. "We might. I'll go look. The rest of you pile up your plates and take a seat."

"Why do you want an onion, Jamie?" Seraphina asked as she slid into like behind her mother.

"Oh not me," Jamie said, scooping up a decent-sized portion for Sophie. "Sophie. She loves onions on her spaghetti. But if you don't have one," he added over his shoulder as Kozmotis routed around in a basket of dry-looking vegetables. "That's totally cool."

"No no, I'm sure we do." Kozmotis said, putting an apple on the counter. "Aha! Here we are," he proclaimed, holding up a golden onion.

Jamie took it and showed it to Sophie. "Good Soph?"

Sophie nodded. "Good!"

Jamie nodded. "OK. You take this and sit at the table while I chop you some." he handed her her plate, which she took in both hands and walked slowly, carefully, to the table and sat it down. Then she climbed up into a chair and started to eat slowly, twirling her fork around the noodles and chomping down.

"Well!" Sara said, laughing. "Your sister has the best table manners I've ever seen in a five-year-old."

Sophie looked up and beamed. "Thank you." she said, then she bent over her plate again.

Jamie nodded. Kozmotis had gotten him a small cutting board and a knife and he was gently chopping at the onion. "Yes. Manners are important if you're going to get far in life, but I've also taught her that you only use your manners when someone deserves them."

Sophie looked up again. "I never say thank you or please to mean Mrs. Beadleman! She call me and Martha Greene bad names!" she declared.

Seraphina laughed. "Like what?" she asked curiously as her daughter dished up her portion of sauce and picked up a handful of the grated cheese.

"Troublemakers." Sophie said. "Brats. And. . ." she glanced at her brother. "What was the other one?"

"Snot-faced Lilliputians." Jamie replied, coming over to her with a handful of finely-chopped onion. "There you go sis. Eat up now."

"Sot-faced Lapu-shins." Sophie repeated, smiling when she saw the onions. "Sour!" she said happily, scooping up a forkful of the white vegetable and some noodles and shoveling them happily into her mouth.

"Why does she like onions so much?" Seraphina asked, sitting down on Sophie's left. Jamie sat down on Sophie's right and began to eat his own.

"She accidentally ate a whole one when she was about two." Jamie said. "It was sliced and she had climbed up into out counter top. I was lucky she didn't grab the knife, otherwise she might've hurt herself."

"Lucky indeed," Kozmotis said as he and his wife dished up their own dinner. Phil was last and he got the same amount as everybody, but the pans were still quite low.

Kozmotis and his wife sat down and Phil, after some coaxing from Jamie and Sara, sat down as well between Kozmotis and Jamie. The chair was a bit small, but he didn't complain.

"The food is excellent," he said, shoveling a heaping forkful into his mouth. "It rivals that of the female yetis at the Pole."

Jamie translated the compliment and Kozmotis smiled. "Thank you Phil. It's not as good as we normally have," he shared a wink with his wife.

"Jarred sauce and noodles from a supermarket." She replied, shaking her head. "My grandmother would turn over in her grave!"

When Jamie asked why her grandmother wouldn't like her using jarred sauce she replied, "She was Italian. Loved making sauce the old fashioned way, straight from vegetables and water and seasoning. I always make it like that, even going to far as to slice my own noodles from the dry sheets they have in organic stores. Though most of the time I just get angle hair."

Jamie nodded. "Ah. I see."

The meal progressed quite merrily after that. Jamie convinced Phil to tell them about the Pole and North. Seraphina and Sara nearly toppled off their seats when they heard that Santa had tattoos.

"You're kidding!" Sara said, her fork poised half-way from the plate to her mouth.

"Nope." Jamie said. "Naughty and Nice, across his forearms. He also carries huge golden swords and is almost as tall as Kozmotis!"

Sara made a comical afraid face. "No wonder most kids are scared of the mall Santas! They're too freaked out by the real one!"

Jamie shook his head. "No no, he's a really jolly guy."

"Ah, but not _just_ jolly!" Phil said, raising his hand dramatically, playing into the whole wonder speech North had given all the Guardians.

Jamie chuckled. "Phil's right. He's also mysterious!"

Phil wiggled his fingers spookily. "And fearless!"

"And fearless!" Jamie repeated.

"And- and caring!" Phil choked out. He was all-out laughing now.

"And caring," Jamie added. "And at his center-"

"He swallowed a small child!" Phil exploded, then he busted up into a storm of laughing. Jamie followed and the other eaters just exchanged puzzled glances.

"Uh, are we missing something?" Kozmotis asked.

Jamie stopped laughing long enough to choke out, "N- nothing! It's just a really really funny old joke." Then he started laughing again.

Sophie patter her brother's shoulder. "Is alright Jamie." she said. "Joker gas go away soon."

That made the others crack up. "So, Sophie likes batman?" Kozmotis asked, chuckling.

"She- she found me watching an episode and that one just happened to have Joker and the laughing gas in it." Jamie said, coughing. "She thinks that every time I start laughing a lot Joker has used his laughing gas on me."

Seraphina snickered. "That's adorable." she said.

After dinner, Phil helped clear up. Kozmotis thanked him and Phil said it was the least he could do. First he loaded the dishwater, then he wiped the counter top and finally straightened the pans hanging above the stove. Then he went over to the cupboards and began getting out things. Sugar, cocoa power- the really bitter stuff without any sugar, and then he bustled over to the fridge and brought out the milk.

"What's up Phil?" Jamie asked from the living room. Phil had asked them to sit in there while he worked. Sera and Sophie had gone back to her room, leaving the adults and Jamie alone with Phil.

"I'm making hot chocolate." Phil answered, pouring the milk into a saucepan and adding a lot of the powder. "To thank them."

Jamie nodded and told Sera and Kozmotis, to which they tried to thank him and tell him it wasn't necessary, but Phil insisted.

"Trust me," Jamie said. "You haven't tasted hot chocolate until you've had Yetish hot chocolate. It's delicious!"

Kozmotis shrugged. "Oh let him Sara." he said. "I know it'll be good."

Sara nodded uncertainly. "OK then." she agreed.

Jamie told Phil they were grateful and Phil asked him to go check on Jack in response. Jamie nodded and, after explaining his errand to Kozmotis and Sara, walked off to complete his task. Jack was the same as he'd been the last time Jamie had seen him. Ice completely covered his body and there was a smile on his face. All good there.

"Hey Jack," Jamie said, smiling at his old friend. "Feeling better?"

Jack didn't respond.

Jamie adjusted a few pieces of ice over his face and, after checking the shadows to see if they were alive, left. He wasn't going to take any chances that the real Boogeyman was going to come after Jack in his one moment of weakness. He was a good friend, and he wouldn't let Pitch take him.

Pitch.

The one person who could fill Jamie Bennett with dread and make his body start to shiver, no matter how warm he was. Jamie hadn't seen him since the Nightmare War had ended and he presumed Pitch had gone into hiding, but after meeting Kozmotis he didn't know what to think. The guy was definitely human, but he looked so much like Pitch that Jamie got the creeps each time he looked at him, regardless of how kind he was.

"It's not him!" Jamie told himself angrily as he slowly walked down the hall to the living room. "I'm just seeing ghosts! Kozmotis couldn't possibly be Pitch Black. His wife, foe one. Pitch wouldn't love a human woman. He wouldn't have a kid with her either, so it can't be him!"

Yet somewhere, in the back of his head Jamie got the feeling that Kozmotis Pitchner wasn't the normal man he looked like. The Nightmare, for one.

"How could he fight off a Nightmare? It's impossible!" Jamie told himself, stopping right before he walked into the living room. He sighed and leaned against the empty wall. Evidently it was not. "And seeing Jack, before he even believed in him, what's that about?" he asked. "Adults don't see spirits! It just doesn't happen!"

Well clearly it does, his common sense told him. And not only that, but Kozmotis withstood the temperatures in Jack's icy room. Now how does a normal human do something like that, I would like to know?

The truth was, Jamie had no idea. He wanted to believe that this was all a freaky coincidence and that he could just go home once Jack was safe, but he didn't. Apart from Jack, Kozmotis was now getting curious about _his_ life, which was dangerous. He'd already told him about his father and the money, his bank card and the odd jobs. What other damage could he do?

"He could go to the courts and ask that I stay with him," Jamie muttered. "Then I'd lose it. I'd lose it all. My freedom, my world, everything." That thought filled him with dread. He would be forced to comply with normal rules and he wouldn't get a tenth of the freedom he had now! "I can't let that happen." he whispered. "I'll just tell him I appreciate it, but I want to stay on my own. I know that he's trying to be a good man, but I don't need charity. I can take care of Sophie and do my school work too. It's not hard. I can-"

"Jamie?"

Jamie jumped about a foot in the air. It was Kozmotis, leaning his head through the doorway that led to the living room. "Y-yes?" he said, trying to recover himself.

Kozmotis frowned and said, "Are you alright boy?"

Jamie smiled unconvincingly. "Uh, yeah! Sure I'm OK! Why wouldn't I be?"

Kozmotis pulled his head in and, for a minute Jamie hoped that he had left but a second later he was walking through the door and down the hall to him. He had two mugs in his hand.

"I don't know how that yeti of your does it," he said, holding one of the mugs out to Jamie. "But he just made the best hot cocoa I have ever tasted. Not too hot, or too sweet or anything!" he smiled as Jamie uncertainly took the cup. "It's delicious."

Jamie smiled and inhaled the scent. "I don't doubt it." he said, warming his hands on he cup. "But I'm not much in the mood for cocoa."

Kozmotis frowned. "Jamie, something's wrong." he said, looking him straight in the face.

Jamie looked up. "What? Where?" he made to turn around. "Jack-"

"No," Kozmotis said quickly, putting his hand on Jamie's shoulder. "I mean something's wrong with you."

Jamie stopped and felt a shiver go down his spine ad the older man's touch. "Wh-what would be wrong with me?" he asked, smiling nervously as he turned around. "I- I'm fine!" _Stupid stutter!_

Kozmotis narrowed his eyes. "Jamie, I can tell when children are lying." he said slowly. "Whatever's wrong, let me help."

Jamie was silent_. Damn! _was all he could think. _Damn damn damn!_

"Is it something to do with Jack?"

"No!" Jamie said, a little too quickly.

"Is it about that dark spirit?" Kozmotis asked. "The real Boogeyman? The one Sophie keeps mistaking me for?"

Jamie gulped. "Uh... maybe." _Yes, yes good! Get him away from the subject of my life and I'll be good!_

"Are you worried that he might take Jack while he's hibernating and the others, Guardians, did you call them?"

Jamie nodded.

"That they will blame you?" he finished, looking Jamie straight in the eye again.

Jamie nodded again. _What the hell. _If that was what it took to get him away from his life, then he would allow him to think that. _Hopefully all this madness will soon be over._

Kozmotis sighed and bent down until he was at the boy's level. "Jamie," he said, putting down his cup and placing his hands on the boy's shoulders. "It's alright. Phil is going to take Jack soon and then he'll be safe. I promise this Boogeyman will not harm him, you, Sophie or anyone you care about. I promise!"

Jamie sighed. "It's not just that!" he said, trying not to sound angry. "I don't know if. . ."

"Jamie, you can tell me anything." Kozmotis said kindly. "What is it?"

Jamie sighed again. He was going to have to sell this more than he'd ever done before! "I don't know if it's really Jack he's after, or if it's me. Heck, it might even be Sophie! He might want her to bargain for something, he not believing in the Guardians or whatever. I just don't know!" Tears started to flow and Jamie felt sick with himself. He hated lying, especially if it was to good people. He knew quite well that it was Jack Pitch was after. He didn't need Jamie for anything and Soph would probably drive him insane before he could trade her as a hostage.

"Oh Jamie," Kozmotis said, engulfing the boy in a hug. "It's alright. I won't let him hurt any of you, I promise. If this Boogeyman-"

"Pitch Black." Jamie said quietly.

"If Pitch Black is rising again after the Guardians put him down, then I'm sure they will be able to handle him just like last time." Kozmotis smiled. "Really Jamie, it'll be alright. I promise."

_As if you had any control over what happens, _Jamie thought, hiding his suspicion behind a smile. "Thanks Kozmotis." he said. "I believe you." _And the instant Jack gets better I'm heading to the Pole to ask him if he can contact Pitch Black, just to make sure I'm just being paranoid and our Boogeyman really is the Boogeyman._


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello all! Glad to see me?**

**Yeah, I thought so. Welcome to the... er... whatever chapter of Somebody That We Used To know!**

**If you haven't read my notice in the Boogeyman Tries to Understand Fanfiction's latest chapter, allow me to explain before you launch into my story:**

**I am busy. Extremely busy. I know that might not mean much, but it's true. I have a lot on my plate right now and despite how well this story is doing, I still have to put the Boogeyman first. I have got to finish it before the end of the year and for that reason I am disbanding my current updating schedule of once a week on Saturdays. Now I am going to devote as much of my time as possible to finishing my story and will update whenever I finish the chapter, which will probably be around five days to a week anyway. **

**Still, just thought I'd let you know. **

**In regards to this story however, I will still update whenever I can. Fear is a Killer is being put on hiatus for the moment, as is Season's Greetings Jack Frost. This one... I'm not sure. I maybe update on my regular days, but I have no set date for updating. I've just got to finish the Boogeyman first!**

**You guys get that, right? Are you OK with that?**

**Well, I hope so, because this might just be the last chapter you're going to see for a while. BUT I PROMISE I WON'T FORGET THIS STORY! I swear it by the writing gods and the river Styx! **

**Thank you to all the reviewers, your love is vastly appreciated, and I cannot thank you enough for your love of this story. Thank you.**

* * *

Jamie's mind was whirling with thoughts by the time he was sitting back down on the couch with the others. Seraphina and Sophie were in her room and that left him, Jamie, in a room full of adults. Oh joy.

"So, Phil," Kozmotis asked when they had sat down. Phil was sitting on the large black chair and Jamie and the adults were sitting on the couch. Jamie laced his fingers together and tried to sip his cocoa, but his fingers were shaking and he had to set the mug down. Thankfully, no one noticed. "I've learned from Jamie that there are more spirits than just your boss, Santa Clause. I was hoping you might tell me who they are. I've always been interested in mythology, so finding out that legendary figures like Santa Clause and Yetis are real...it's kind of a treat for me." he admitted, grinning.

Phil glanced at Jamie who didn't look up. He instantly knew from the way he sat that there was something wrong with the boy, but he resolved to ask him about it later. "Well," he began. "There are the five Guardians, the strongest spirits chosen by the Man in the Moon as his agents to protect the children of the world. Those are Jack Frost, whom you've met, Nicholas St. North who is Santa Clause, Toothiana, queen of the Tooth Fairy armies is the Tooth Fairy, E. Aster Bunnymund is the Easter Bunny and Sanderson Mansnoozie is the Sandman."

Kozmotis looked to Jamie for a translation and Jamie gave it, albeit reluctantly. He still didn't know what to think of the tall man who resembled Pitch Black so much. Doubts were entangled in his mind and he just wanted to be away, far away from these people in silence and peace, so that he could figure it out.

Sara, despite all her motherly instincts, didn't notice Jamie's strange behavior. She was looking at him, but she was more interested in what Jamie was saying. "Santa, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, Jack Frost and the Sandman? All real?" she asked incredulously.

"Yep. And a bunch of big spirits like Mother Nature, The Grim Reaper, Father Time, Hallowa the spirit of Halloween and her brother Jack Skellington, Eros the spirit of love, the Ground Hog, Liam Patrick Connors the Leprechaun, the other three seasonals, the list goes on and on." Phil said, smiling. "Boy, you should've seen the last centennial spirit meeting. We had twice as many spirits as last time, owing to Jack now being part of the Guardians."

Kozmotis gave Phil a questioning look when Jamie relayed this.

"Jack knew a lot of minor spirits that we didn't know." Phil explained. "The younger elemental spirits, some spirits from different countries, people like that. He knew them and he could reach out to them and invite them where we couldn't because we didn't know them."

Jamie tried to stay silent after he told Kozmotis what Phil had said, but he couldn't help himself. "Don't forget Manny," he added. "He's the most important."

"Ah, yes," Phil said, smiling. "Tsar Lunar the sixteenth. The Man in the Moon. The spirit who started it all, back in the Golden Age."

Jamie translated the first part but left out the Golden Age bit. It wouldn't do for these humans to learn _too_ much about the spirit realm. He didn't know why he did it, but he did and he couldn't take it back now.

"Tsar?" Kozmotis repeated. He seemed very interested. "So, the culture from which the Man in the Moon originated was Slavic?"

Jamie shrugged. "I don't know." he said. "Maybe."

Kozmotis heard the distraction in the boy's voice and he turned to look at him for the first time. "Jamie, are you alright?"

Jamie raised his head with a smile on his face. He was determined to not be a sourpuss and not give away his emotions, even though they were like snakes in his chest. What was he doing here? He should be at home, with Sophie! That was how it always was! He never went anywhere because he had a duty to his sister and he-

_No!_ Jamie told himself. _Now is not the time for that! I've just got to put a plastic smile on my face and pretend like nothing's wrong._

And yet, a small voice inside him, unbidden seemed to have different ideas. _Coward,_ it said. _What a coward you are boy. Afraid of a these people. Bah! The man is nothing more than human and the woman could never hurt you, so why are you scared?_

Why _was_ he scared?

Jamie knew that Kozmotis's eyes were on him and he swallowed the lump in his throat. "I'm fine." he said brightly, lowering his eyes ot the floor. "Just thinking."

Kozmotis's eyes lingered on his face for a few minutes, but Jamie tried not to notice. The man's green eyes were nothing like Pitch's eclipse ones.

_No,_ he thought, remembering the Boogeyman's bright eyes as he cornered the Guardians in that alleyway. _That's not true. They both have that same brightness in them. Pitch's eyes were bright with madness and Kozmotis. . . his eyes are bright with kindness. They are almost like polar opposites._

Jamie dropped his gaze to the floor. Kozmotis. Pitch. What was the connection between the two, if any?

"OK," Kozmotis said uncertainly. "If you need anything, just tell us."

_There, you see? _Jamie told the voice triumphantly. _They are trying to help me! Pitch has nothing to do with this man! It's just a bad coincidence that the two look alike._

_If that's what you choose to believe,_ the voice told him airily. _But think, boy. Right after this Kozmotis drove you home he came right back for you and practically **ordered** you to go with him._

_That's not true! _Jamie told it, clenching his fists and inadvertently cracking three knuckles. _It's not!_

The noise cut through the talking like a gunshot and all eyes turned to him once again. Jamie, realizing his mistake, quickly unclenched his hands and lowered his head.

"Jamie," Kozmotis asked hesitantly. "Are you _sure_ you're alright?" He leaning across his wife's lap to peer at Jamie and Jamie turned away.

"I'm fine." he said. Kozmotis heard the coldness in the boy's voice and he almost snatched the boy's hand to make him look him in the eyes, but he didn't. The boy had had to deal with quite a lot. Maybe he was just tired.

But now Sara was interested too and she put a hand on Jamie's shoulder, forcing him to turn towards them. "You look a little flushed, Jamie." she said, reaching for his forehead with the hand that wasn't on the boy's shoulder. "Being out in that cold might've given you a fever-"

"I'm fine!" Jamie yelled, swatting her hand away and inadvertently spilling his hot cocoa all over the floor and smashing the cup into five pieces. Silence rang in the room as all four occupants stared at the cup, its brown liquid already staining the rug.

Jamie stared at the broken cup in horror. How could he have done such a thing?! His heart burned with shame that he'd committed such a childish act of temper. "I- I'm sorry!" he practically squeaked, so worried was he that he had insulted and/or angered the Pitchners. Fear clutched at his heart and he stood quickly, knowing that yelling was going to come soon. No one had yelled at him for a long time and he wasn't sure it he could stand it. "I- I'll go get a towel to clean it up right now!"

Jamie backed away from the adults and Phil, all of which didn't look angry but he knew that the would be soon. All adults got angry when you broke something of theirs, especially if you were a guest and, ignoring Kozmotis and Sara's calls, he turned tail and ran for the hall. His footsteps were like drum beats hammering, ringing through his head and ears. What had he done? _What had he done?!_

Panic began to overtake him and, as Jamie skidded to a halt near the end of the hall he glanced feverishly behind him. He could her voices and footsteps, coming for him! On impulse he dove for the bathroom and, wrenching the door open so sharply that it hit his arm and shoulder and sent violent pain rocketing through him, stumbled through and slammed the door behind him. He locked it, then he backed away and fell to his knees beside Jack in the tub, crying.

Big, fat tears rolled down his cheeks and he tried to keep silent, but the sobbing was too great and he just sat there on the cold tiles, his arms wrapped around his own shoulders in an effort to keep warm. Jack had turned this room into an ice box. He heard the juggling of the locked door, then knocking and a voice. Kozmotis's.

"Jamie, are you alright? It's really OK, the mug was ancient anyway and I never liked it."

Over his sobbing Jamie heard the sound of a punch and Kozmotis muttering something to who he assumed was his wife. "-sorry dear, but it _was_ the wrong shade of green. Go make sure the girls are alright, please?" Silence for a bit, then, "Jamie?"

But Jamie wasn't listening. He was curled up into a ball on the tiled floor, rocking and trying to stop crying. What on earth was wrong with him?! He didn't cry! _I haven't cried since mom left, _he thought, shifting his body forward and backward to a slow, gentle rhythm._ And I promise myself I wouldn't cry again until she comes back. Oh well. Just another broken promise in the life of James Nathaniel Bennett._

"Jamie? Boy, what's wrong?"

Jamie raised his head. Oh, right. Kozmotis. He was hiding in here from him. Why?

"Why indeed." he muttered.

"Did you say something?"

Jamie didn't reply. Why was he running? Why was he hiding? Why was he crying?

_I'm running because that's all I've ever done._ He thought, lowering his head onto his knees again._ Run from my problems. I'm hiding because I have the twisted feeling the person who is helping me might be the same person who tried to kill me three years ago. And I'm crying because-_

"Jamie, please, it's nothing to worry about. It's just a mug."

Because. . .

"Jamie if you don't come out or speak to me I'm going to ask Phil to break the door down."

Kozmotis's voice was hard now and Jamie knew that he meant it and, on some level of consciousness he knew he cared, but that level was too far away from the level that controlled the brain functions necessary to comply with Kozmotis's request. That didn't matter though. Jamie was too far under the grip of fear. It seeped from his every pore, literally, as a gray, gaseous substance that rolled off of him like a heavy fog. Yet he couldn't feel it.

Jamie had stopped rocking. He had stopped all movement, in fact. He sat there, frozen still, while the gray fog-like stuff seeped from his skin and up it, turning his face and hands gray like slate. He didn't know what was happening around him. He was, in a sense, in a coma. He couldn't see or hear anything around him, even the thunderous roar of Phil as he slammed his formidable bulk against the door. He didn't hear the gasp of horror as Phil came across Jamie sitting statue-like on the floor and he didn't feel the giant yeti pick him up like a rag doll and carry him through the door which was hanging by one of it's hinges. All of it was like a deaf blur to him.

"What the hell?!" Kozmotis yelled upon running in behind the Yeti and seeing the skin on Jamie's face and hands. They were gray, like stone. "Phil, what happened to him?!"

"Beats the hell out of me!" Phil yelled back, shifting Jamie's weight until it was resting more comfortably in his arms. He studied the boy, noting his wide, open eyes and his shallow breathing. Whatever had happened to the boy, it did not look good. "I've never seen anything like this!"

Kozmotis, who had grown quite adept at Yetish in the few short hours he'd known Phil but still had trouble translating, said, "What was that last bit?"

"I've never seen anything like this," Phil repeated, slower. "Gray skin-" Phil froze. Oh _no_._ Gray. . . _The boy had seemed distant, but he didn't think it was something like_ this!_ This was bad, very very bad.

_What's happening to Jamie?! _He thought, staring down at the poor boy. He wasn't even blinking. _I can't let Sophie lose her only brother! I can't! And Jack's first believer- _Phil closed his eyes. He couldn't bear seeing the boy die from the fear inside him, for he knew exactly what was happening to Jamie. Fear.

"Phil?"

Phil snapped out of his daze. Now wasn't the time for thinking, now was the time for _doing._ He needed to get to North and have him find Pitch immediately, or else Jamie's life might be lost!

"We've got to get him to the Pole, now!" Phil yelled and started taking large strides, heading for the living room where the snow globe was. Kozmotis jogged down the short space unhappily, calling out and begging to be told what was going on, but the yeti ignored him. He had to get Jamie there first, then he would come back for Jack.

"Phil! Please, what's going on?" Kozmotis begged, still behind him. "Is it that fear spirit, the Boogeyman?"

_Sharper than he looks._ "Yes, it's him. He's done something to Jamie, something I know is fatal. I have to get him to the Pole now!" Phil called, striding into the living room and making all glass items shake and dance a little. He set Jamie on the couch and stooped to pick up Jamie's bag, where he'd stowed the globe.

"What?" Kozmotis asked, following him into the living room. "I only understood about half of that."

Damn.

"GET SOPHIE! I'll explain it all but she's the only one who can translate fully!" Phil ordered, unzipping Jamie's bag and uprooting it, not caring what fell out for all he needed was the globe. Some sneakers, a sock or two, more clothes and some money.

"Sophie?" Kozmotis asked, puzzled.

"Yes! Hurry, get her! I have to leave soon but I'll be back for-" Phil stopped. Kozmotis was already running back down the hall. Smart human. He looked through the bag for what felt like an age until he found it, smaller and more portable than the average snow globe, this one was a modern design that was nothing more than a small glass orb with Jamie's name inscribed on the bottom in a circle. This one was a regenerative globe, so once you smashed it it reappeared in your hands once you or something went through the portal.

He had to smile. North and his tricks. One of the best thieves, toymaker, magicians and masters of wonder in the world and he used _snow globes_ to travel.

"Phil!"

Phil whirled around, careful not to drop the globe. "Sophie!"

Sophie was running at him like a mini-cyclone, tears streaming down her face. _Oh gods, that idiot didn't tell her did he? _Phil thought, almost groaning.

"Phil! Where Jamie? Pitch say he sick. Don't he gotta go to hospital if he sick?" she asked, coming to a stop right in front of him.

Phil's eyes widened when he heard the name Pitch. "Sophie," he said urgently, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Have you seen Pitch?"

"Yes. He say he not, but I know better." Sophie said, turning around to point at Kozmotis who had followed her in. He sighed.

"She just will not give up on this idea that I'm the Boogeyman." he explained, coming over until he was looming over little Sophie. He bent down until he was almost at eye-level with her and said firmly, "I'm _not_, Sophie. I've never hurt Jack or Jamie and I never would. You have me confused with someone else."

"As much as I hate to say it Sophie, he's right. This man is human, through and through." Phil said, turning her gently to face him. "I smell it. But that's not the issue right now. I need you to tell Kozmotis that yes, your brother is sick. Very sick, and he needs to go to a special hospital in the north. Can you do that?"

Sophie nodded and dutifully turned to Kozmotis. "Pitch, he say that Jamie very sick and he needs to go to hospital in the north."

Kozmotis frowned at Phil for a moment, during which Phil sent him a dozen silent messages all saying _come on, come on, you're a smart human being. You can figure it out._ Eventually he did and he nodded.

"I see," he said. "Can you ask him if that means Jack will go too?"

Phil understood that clear enough. "No, Jack's not coming. At least, not at first." he said to Sophie. "Jamie is the primary issue here, but I will come back for Jack. As long as Jamie is safe, Jack will be too."

Sophie relaid the information to Kozmotis and he nodded. "OK. OK, I understand. We'll keep Jack safe, don't worry."

"I'm not worried," Phil said. "Pitch won't try to attack him the way he's attacked Jamie. He'll wait until Jack's awake to kill him because then he can gloat."

Sophie relaid this too and then she frowned. "But...you said you won't hurt them, right Pitch?"

"I'm _not_ Pitch, child!" Kozmotis sand, anger making his tone sound just like the Nightmare King's. Sophie flinched and Kozmotis straightened up, backing away from Sophie. "I'm sorry," he said, looking at Jamie. "I'll keep an eye on his sister until he gets better."

"No!" Sophie said, flying to her brother's side. "I wanna go with him!"

"Sophie!" Phil yelled, quickly pulling her away from her brother, lest it spread like an infection to her. "Get back! He might be contagious!"

"I don't care!" Sophie screamed, kicking and fighting the grip Phil had on the back of her shirt. "Lemme see my brudder!"

"Sophie!" Phil yelled again, this time more harshly and low as he yanked her back sharply. Both of her arms were in his tight grip and she continued to fight, but he just held her, waiting for her to tire. "Sophie, your brother's going to be cared for, OK? I promise. But you've got to stay with Kozmotis for a while, OK? He'll keep you safe. He hasn't hurt Jamie or you and he's not Pitch. He's a good man." Phil and Kozmotis shared a look and Kozmotis knew that, from now on, he was responsible for Sophie.

"I'll take care of her," he said, reaching out to take her from Phil.

Phil pulled her into a quick hug, then pushed her gently towards Kozmotis. "Go, Sophie. Kozmotis will keep you safe."

"But Phil..." Sophie was sniffling now.

_Oh gods, I'd better get out of here now, before she starts crying._ Phil thought, turning away from Sophie and picking up Jamie again. _If she starts crying I'll just break._

Kozmotis took Sophie into his arms and picked her up like he'd done to his own daughter many years ago. "You'll be back?" he asked Phil, allowing Sophie to sob into his shoulder. Thankfully the noise was muffled and Phil could ignore it, but not for long.

"Yes." Phil said, nodding. "I'll be back for Jack in less than five hours." he quickly glanced at Sophie, then at Kozmotis again. "If Pitch comes, looking for Jamie or Jack, don't try to fight him. He's stronger than you, even in a weakened state. Do you understand?"

Kozmotis tried to object but Phil put a heavy hand on the man's shoulder. At seven feet tall he almost looked the yeti in the eye. "Kozmotis, you are a brave man, but you are no match for Pitch. His Nightmares will kill your family and take Jack anyway. We can always get him back from Pitch anyway because we know where he lives."

"But what if he hurts Jack?" Kozmotis asked.

Phil had to laugh at that. "Ha! You haven't touched him since he sent into his hibernation state, have you?"

Kozmotis raised an eyebrow. "Uh, no."

"His skin is as hard as ice. Pitch can't physically hurt him until he waked up and the skin melts a little bit." Phil said, smiling. "Don't worry about him. Worry about yourself." Phil glanced at Sophie, who was still sniffling in his arms. "And keep Sophie safe, OK? It's doubtful he will want to take her, but if he does then you can give him over to her."

"What?!" Kozmotis looked horrified.

"Listen, Kozmotis." Phil said, smiling again. "Sophie will drive him _insane_ before he will hurt her. Trust me on that. Plus she's fast, so he probably won't be able to catch her anyway."

Kozmotis smiled. "My own little one did drive me up the wall when she was this age." he said, almost to himself. "I understand. But he won't hurt her of Jack, I promise."

"Don't be a hero, Kozmotis." Phil said firmly, squeezing on the man's shoulder. "If Pitch comes, give him what he wants and then wait for me. We can always go get whoever he takes back from him because we are much stronger than him. Do you understand?"

Kozmotis nodded. "I understand. I'll keep them safe."

"Good. I'd take a step back if I were you," he said, motioning for Kozmotis to back away. He did, and Phil threw the globe onto the ground. Immediately a huge swirling vortex began to appear, it's colors whirling and dancing like a vat full of melted crayons. Phil gave the wide-eyed Kozmotis a salute, then jumped through the portal with Jamie in his arms.

"Pretty." Sophie said, raising her head to look at the swirling portal.

"It is indeed," Kozmotis agreed, staring at the portal. It stayed open for about five seconds, then disappeared and he was able to tear his eyes away. "Now, let's go find Seraphina. I'm sure she would like to play some more." he turned and, keeping Sophie tucked in his long arms, carried her back to Seraphina's room where his wife and Sara were waiting.

XXXXXXXXXX

As soon as Phil stumbled through the portal and into the North Pole, all movement stopped.

Damn. Phil thought, looking around at the other yetis and elves who had been running around, getting into stuff as usual. He'd been planning to drop Jamie in one of North's many unused rooms and them run to find North, but he's miscalculated when the portal had been opened and now he was stuck in a very very awkward position with a gray human in his hands, waiting to see what the others would do.

To their credit, neither the yetis or the elves freaked out. They just calmly turned off whatever machinery they were working, set down all tools they were using and walked over to him. The elves set down their cups of milk and screw drivers and bolts and all the other weird things they were messing with and ran to get North. Phil grunted in yetish, "It's Jamie. He's sick." And, like they had been born for this purpose, the yetis immediately started setting up for him.

One ran off and returned with a warm blanket and Phil took it, laying it down on a chair and then setting Jamie down on it. When he'd bundled Jamie up in the blanket he picked him up again and then carried him to the infirmary. Three yetis came in, carrying equipment that was mandatory in hospitals like a heart monitor and a breathing apparatus. Phil set the boy down, arranged his blanket and another one which had been brought in over it, then backed away and let the other yetis hook him up to the machines. He had to go find North. Not that he didn't trust the elves, but they _were_ elves after all.

Phil left the room, heading for North's office. If the elves had already told him then chances were he-

"Phil! Look out below!"

Phil, who always dreaded those orders, quickly ran back inside the large room where the yetis were now checking Jamie's pulse and watched with a small smile on his face as Nicholas St. North, bandit extraordinaire, jumped from the seventh level of the shop where his private workroom was instead of using the many stair cases. It was over fifty feet, but North didn't seem to care. He landed nimbly on his caribou skin-covered feet with an earth-shattering thud and, after shaking his head once to clear it, quickly strode over to him.

"Phil, old friend, vhat is wrong?" he asked. "Elves tell me you brought back boy but they said it vasn't Jack. Vhat happened? Vhere is-"

"North, old friend please," Phil said, holding up his hands. "I swear I was about to bring Jack but something strange happened before I could."

North's formidable eyebrows furrowed like little black and white caterpillars. "Something strange? But who-"

"Jamie." Phil said before North could get any farther. "It's Jamie. He's sick. Really sick."

North's eyebrows furrowed even more. "Phil," he said seriously. "Ve don't deal in human maladies, you know that. I know the boy is Jack's first believer, but-"

"No, he's not human-sick. He's got some kind of magical disease!"

North studied him for a moment, then said, "Show me." Phil nodded, leading him into the room. The Russian man wasn't prepared in the least for what he saw. "bozhe moy! Phil, how did this happen?!"

"I don't know. He knocked over a cup at the house of that man who saved Jack, then he freaked out and hid in the bathroom."

North's puzzlement was complete. "My yetish must be getting rusty. _Vhat_ did you just say?"

Phil sighed. This was going to take some time. "Look, Nick, we can go over the details a little later. Right now we need to get Jamie some medical attention."

North nodded. "Yes, yes, you're right. Do you know anything about what's happening to him?"

"Yes." Phil sighed. "I think it might have something to do with Pitch. The gray skin, and he was really afraid of something before we found him."

North surveyed the boy's skin and turned his head until he was looking straight at him. "No change in eyes, that's good." he said almost to himself.

"Yes but they are open. Isn't that a little alarming?"

North nodded, stroking his formidable beard. "Indeed. But that is nothing but mental paralysis. He can still breathe, but until it vears off he won't be able to eat."

Phil nodded. "I see. Well, how long before it does wear off?"

North shrugged. "A day, a veek, I have no idea." he bent down and snapped his fingers beside Jamie's ears to check if he could hear. No response. "Yes, definitely mental paralysis."

Phil nodded. "I have to back for Jack now, Nicholas. Unless there's something you need me for-"

"No," North interrupted. "Go get Jack. Den ve talk about dis."

Phil nodded and picked up the snow globe that was rolling on the ground and backed away, then he threw the snow globe to the ground and opened a portal. "Are you sure?" he asked.

North nodded. "I vill stay with him. Go."

Phil went. Ten minutes and a brief conversation with Kozmotis and Sara about taking care of Sophie later, he returned and he was carrying an unconscious Jack Frost in his arms. Frost was creeping up his fur and he was shivering.

"Wow, I never realized how powerful Jack was until now." Phil said. His breath showed in the air as he set Jack down in the bed beside Jamie.

"No, Phil, ve need to-" North began but Phil stopped him. He rubbed his arms and shook the ice off of them, then he stretched and picked up Jack again.

"I was just shaking the ice off." he said as he did so. "No worries North, I know how to deal with a hibernating winter spirit."

North nodded. "Ve need to get him down to the cooler, now. His temperature is already rising."

Phil nodded and headed for the stairs that led down to the dungeons and basement, where the boilers and freezer were situated. North didn't just get his ice from the glaciers on the Pole, he got a good chunk of it from the underground ice chest that made perfect square blocks of ice that he used to model his toys. They had learned several years ago that it was the perfect place for Jack to rest when he was in his hibernation state after a few trial and error months that resulted in three rooms of North's covered in frost.

North accompanied him down to the little room they had set up for Jack. It was small, with nothing more than a comfortable bed and a decorative icy painting of the five of them on the wall. After setting Jack down on the bed and checking to make sure he was alright, Phil and North went back upstairs and Phil made them two cups of cocoa. It was a comfort thing. After that, they checked on Jamie one more time and then headed upstairs to North's workshop to talk.

"So," North said after sitting down behind his desk and folding his arms. "Tell me about this man."

"His name is Kozmotis Pitchner. He lives in the same town as Jamie, Burgess, with his wife and daughter." Phil began.

North raised his eyebrows. "Kozmotis _Pitch_-ner?" he repeated, stroking his beard again. "Hmm."

"I know, I know," Phil said quickly before North could say what he had already thought of. "But he's human. Trust me, I smelled him enough. He and his wife and daughter smell entirely human."

"Still, that name..." North said, staring into his cocoa mug that was on his desk. "Are you certain he's human?"

Phil nodded. "Completely."

North nodded silently and continued to watch his mug intently. Phil recognized that look. North was thinking about something, hard.

"Nick," Phil said hesitantly. "Jamie said that the man, the one who rescues Jack, he took down a Nightmare with his bare hands."

North's head snapped up. "Vhat?" his voice was sharp and almost angry. Phil flinched, but tried to remain calm.

"He said he took-"

"No, I heard," North said, waving his hand. "I heard, but I do not believe." he paused staring at his cup again, then asked, "Vith bare hands?"

"Yes. Not only that, but Jamie said that, according to the man he could see Jack, but no other humans could. He brought medics to his house because he thought Jack was a human boy in need of help, but they didn't see him." Phil reported.

North began stroking his beard with both hands. Phil's eyes widened. _Wow. This is serious. _He had never used both hands before.

"Dis is bad." North finally said. "Dis is very very bad."

Phil gritted his teeth. Great. "What is bad, Nick?" he asked, albeit reluctantly.

"Humankind as a whole is not meant to know of magic." North replied, still focusing on the mug.

"Uh, OK." Phil said, unsure of what to say to North's cryptic words. "That doesn't make any sense, as humanity already knows about magic, but OK."

"No," North said again, waving his hand. "I mean they do know of it, but they do not believe it really exists."

Phil lad to laugh at that. "Nick, old friend, have you seen humanity today? They write about fantasy much more than they did even twenty years ago or even _thirty_ years ago. Children read and watch books and shows about magic every day!"

"Yes, but no one truly believes dat it exists because dey have not seen it vith dere own two eyes, and dat is how all humans believe." North said, still stroking his beard. "If humans- especially adults -have the knowledge that magic, true magic, is real... then we are in for a huge change."

Phil rolled his eyes. "Oh come on North," he said, sure the big man was just exaggerating. "Humans that see magical creatures are called insane and people who believe in magic are labeled radicals. That's never going to change."

"NO!" North yelled, slamming his fist down on the table and knocking over the mug. "No! It _VILL_ change, because if humans find out about us and if dey have proof, de whole vorld will fall into ruin and disarray!"

Phil opened his mouth to protest but North interrupted him.

"I am deadly serious, Phil!" he yelled, standing up and heading for the door. "Ve need to call the others! Then ve need to go find this man and figure out how he can see us! If dis one man can see us, den it's only a matter of time before de rest of de vorld does and den vill come scientists and experiments! Dey vill try to find out vat makes us tock from inside and den, vhen dere curiosity is not satisfied, dey will put us in cages to study and probe until dey do!"

Now Phil was starting to get worried. North was acting the exact same way Jamie was, erratic and suspicious. "Nick, wait!" he called, trying to slow the big man down with a hand on his shoulder. "Think about what you're doing! The man is just some human that happened to be in the right place at the right time! It's not some conspiracy theory that means the extinction of all spirits!"

"DAT'S EXACTLY VHAT IT MEANS!" North shouted, picking up pace. "Destruction, terror, the end of all balance! I must protect all of us!"

Phil tried to stop him but the big Russian was too fast. He ran down to the main level, taking the stairs three at a time, and skidded to a halt right in front of the globe controls. Phil pounded after him, confusion and worry etched across his face. "North! Wait!"

"Time for vaiting is past!" North shouted back. "Ve need to take offensive. Bring fight to humans!"

Phil blanched. Oh shit. Not good! "North, this is crazy! I understand that you're worried-"

"No! Vorried is vhen I can't find socks! Vorried is vhen I am five minutes late on delivery!" North yelled, yanking at the switch that turned on the Northern Lights. "Dis is not vorried. _Dis_ is petrified!"

Phil almost let a "Then why are you still moving?" escape his lips, but Nick's words had jogged something in the back of his mind. They hadn't seen Pitch Black, actually physically seen him, for quite some time. Not for almost four years in fact. And then just out of the blue, a black Nightmare horse tries to kill Jack? Phil frowned.

"Nick, you're not thinking straight." he said, walking quickly over to the big Russian and putting a hand on his shoulder. His brain was still trying to fit all the pieces together, but he did know one thing. Nicholas St. North had only once been afraid in his life, apart from now. "Something strange is happening. I don't know what it is, but Pitch has something to do with it."

"OF COURSE he has something to do vith it!" North boomed, turning to Phil. His normally wide sapphire eyes were even wider and full of fear. "Dat monster, always hiding in de shadows. He's trying to poison Jamie and probably Jack too, to weaken us!"

Phil opened his mouth but North beat him to it again.

"He vants to bring us down and he's hurting us individually to do it! Divided ve fall! Next he might hurt Bunny or Tooth or even me!" his eyes were really wide now. "He might have those shadow-horses infiltrate the Pole and-" North froze, staring at Phil.

"What?"

"YOU!" North yelled.

Phil barely had time to duck before one of North's ham-like fists came swinging in his direction. "North!" he yelled, stumbling back. "What are you doing?!"

"YOU!" North yelled again, reaching for his sabers. "You! You betrayed me Phil!"

Now Phil was thoroughly confused. "_What?!_"

North tugged one of his sabers loose and brandished it at Phil wildly. His eyes were bright with anger now and he moved as if drunk. Phil had seen North get angry many times, but he had never seen him like this! He was acting like a crazed/drunk/high conspiracy theorist! "Pitch is trying to bring us down! Vhat better vay dan to corrupt my enterprise from de inside!"

Phil ducked again as the saber swiped though the air. "Nick, please, calm down! I'm not a traitor!"

"LIES!" North yelled, slashing and hacking. "You are trying to divide us! You vanted to stop me from turning on de lights! Trying to keep me and Jack and Jamie away from others!"

Phil didn't know what to do. Nick was hacking and slashing so fast that he had to maintain a quick dance-like sequence of movements to keep from getting sliced. He had to find a way to make him see sense! "Nick, listen to me! I'm not in league with Pitch! I've been your friend for over a thousand years! The only reason I didn't want you to- Whoa!" he was cut off by another swipe, this time near his stomach. "The only reason I didn't want you to turn on the lights is because you aren't thinking things through clearly!"

North laughed bitterly and lunged, but Phil pressed on.

"Nick, something strange is going on! We haven't seen Pitch in over three years and Nightmares are running amok! Now we find a man which looks exactly like Pitch, but human. Coincidence? I think not!" Phil was gratified to see North hesitate, his sword-tip wavering. He pressed harder. "I think something really weird is going on with Pitch. Maybe we _should_ call the others and go find him, see if everything's normal."

North let out an angry bellow, the thoughtful look fading away. "LIES! You vant to-" but he was silenced when Phil realized that his poor, beloved boss, was out of his mind. He knew that there was no way that North could be convinced of the truth of his words, so he made a quick decision. He knew he was going to have to apologize for it later, but it didn't matter. He pulled back his fist, judged the timing, and let loose.

The blow knocked North out and he fell like a ton of bricks. Phil just barely managed to catch his boss before his head hit the floor. "I'm sorry North." he said, then proceeded to drag North by the arms over to the biggest armchair, laid him down and then walked over to the controls. He stared at the almost-turned switch for a full minute, contemplating the situation. He had no idea what was going on, North and Jamie were sick with some strange fear virus, Jack was unconscious and a man was walking around that looked exactly like Pitch Black. One thing was clear.

"I need help." he whispered, curling his hand around the switch and pressing it. From atop the highest tower in the North Pole, rainbow lights began to gleam and snake out into the arctic night, illuminating the sky. He watched them through the open window, a small, single tear running down his cheek. He didn't know what to do. Why did this responsbility hae to fall on him?

"Hurry." he begged the other three Gaurdians. "Please hurry."


End file.
